G>he 
Illumined  Hif e 

»lent%nAndcrson''Gordon 


GIFT  or         . 


°~* 


/   /    >~^~        of 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

BY 
HELEN  VAN  ANDERSON-GORDON 

AUTHOR  OF 

THE  JOURNAL  OF  A  LIVE  WOMAN 
TEMPLE  TEACHINGS,  HEART  LETTERS 
RADIANT  STAR,  ETC. 


>?  *  _».» 


CHICAGO 

A.C.McCLURG&CO. 

1912 


Copyright 

A.  C.  McClurg  &  Co. 

1912 

Published  October,  1912 

Copyrighted  in  Great  Britain 

All  rights  reserved 


Of 


a 


The  Ralph  Fletcher  Seymour  Co. 
Chicago 


To  all  earnest  souls  everywhere 
who  desire  to  find 
Life,  to  practice 

Love,  and  to  establish 
FRATERNITY. 


OAOn/-»w 


FOREWORD 

To  you  and  you,  my  friends,  who 
long  for  the  gold  of  the  Spirit,  I  offer  a 
few  nuggets  gathered  during  years  of 
search  and  sacrifice,  from  the  quarry  of 
Life. 

H.  Van  A-G. 


Where  there  is  no  vision,  the  people  perish:  but  he 
that  keepeth  the  law,  happy  is  he. — Proverbs. 


CONTENTS 

I.  The  Spiritual  Birth // 

//.  TheSpiritual  Significance  of  the  Senses  33 

III.  The  Will 47 

IV.  The  Thought  Realm 69 

V.  The  Illumined  Life 91 

VL  The  Three-fold  Plane  of  Being /// 

VII.  Rules  for  the  Practiceof  Life  Principles  137 

VIII.  The  Secret  of  Application 155 

IX.  Spiritual  Ministry 173 

X.  Universal  Brotherhood 193 


THE   ILLUMINED    LIFE 

Chapter  I 
THE  SPIRITUAL  BIRTH 

If  you  shut  up  your  soul  in  the  body  and  humble 
yourself  and  say:  "I  understand  nothing,  I  can  do 
nothing,  I  neither  know  what  I  am  nor  what  I  shall 
be;"  what  are  you  in  common  with  God? 

Not  to  recognize  the  divine  is  the  perfection  of 
evil;  but  to  be  able  to  perceive,  to  desire,  to  hope  for 
it,  is  the  means  of  reaching  it  by  a  direct  and  easy 
road. — Hermes. 


|  OU  have  taken  a  momentous 

I    step,  when  you  say  that  you 

wish  to  find  God  and  to  live 

|  the  life  of  the  spirit. 

This   means,   though   you   may  not 

know  it,  that  you  have  come  to  the  end 

of  your  world;  that  you  are  ready  to 

live  or  to  die. 

It  is  well.    The  very  angels  rejoice. 
HEAR  THIS  TRUTH: 
The  world  as  a  place,  is  that  in  which 
bodies  live,  enjoy,  suffer  and  die.     The 
11 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

world  as  a  condition,  is  that  state  of 
mind  which  is  continually  divided 
against  itself;  now  full  of  discord  or 
peace,  vice  or  virtue,  sorrow  or  joy, 
dislikes  or  affections. 

This  middle,  or  mind-world,  gives 
torment. 

It  is  this,  which  by  the  fine  invisible 
cords  of  self-interest,  binds  the  soul  to 
itself  and  impels  it  to  eat  of  the  bitter 
husks  of  experience  rather  than  of  the 
sweet  fruits  of  faith. 

Yet,  at  last,  like  a  wayward  child  the 
soul  comes  through  very  weariness  of 
the  husk  to  ask  for  the  fruit. 

Sick  unto  death  of  the  varying  moods 
or  feelings  of  the  self  or  the  mental 
world ;  seeing  no  significance  or  enjoy- 
ment in  the  material  world,  because  of 
misapprehension,  the  soul  says: 

"This  existence  is  not  life.  I  want 
no  more.  Give  me  death  or  give  me 
life  that  is  not  mockery." 

12 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

Thus  the  end  of  the  world  is  reached 
through  evolution  of  consciousness 
gained  by  experience. 

The  soul  must  now  begin  anew  upon 
the  higher  plane. 

This  means  that  it  must  return  to  the 
center  (its  consciousness  of  Divine 
Being)  through  involution  and  revela- 
tion. 

Revelation  interprets  experience. 

In  brief,  the  soul  must  be  resurrected 
into  the  spiritual  life  and  become  at 
one  with  its  Source. 

Thus  will  it  consciously  think,  act 
and  live  the  Love  life,  instead  of  the 
self  life,  which  it  lives  on  the  natural 
plane. 

The  process  of  passing  from  the 
death  of  the  self  to  the  life  of  the  spirit 
is  the  resurrection,  the  initiation  into 
eternal  life. 

Life  is  not  relative,  but  absolute. 

It  is  that  which  IS. 
13 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

It  changes  not,  nor  can  be  changed. 

It  is  that  to  which  nothing  can  be 
added,  and  from  which  nothing  can  be 
taken  away. 

It  is  the  one  Life — indivisible,  per- 
fect.    It  is  the  cause  of  all  lives. 

A  life  is  merely  the  expression  of  the 
life. 

Life  is  of  the  spirit,  not  flesh.  Hence, 
as  the  spirit,  only,  is  alive,  it  is  that 
which  feels,  knows,  acts. 

The  spirit  is  the  sun,  whereof  the 
flesh  is  the  earth. 

As  the  material  sun  warms  the  earth 
and  makes  possible  its  fruitfulness,  so 
may  the  spirit  warm  the  earth  nature 
or  flesh,  and  make  possible  its  fruitful- 
ness. 

As  there  is  one  Life,  there  is  also, 
one  Spirit.  It  is  the  one  Substance  of 
all  souls  in  which,  and  of  which,  all 
subsist  and  exist  as  in  a  sea  of  omni- 
present Being.    Every  soul  is  in  itself 

14 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

an  individualized  spirit  and  a  center  of 
Deific  identity. 

There  is  but  one  Mind,  of  which,  as 
Emerson  says : 

"Every  man  is  an  inlet." 

As  this  is  the  all-including  and  in- 
clusive Mind,  there  is  no  intelligence 
in  all  existence  which  can  be  separated 
from  it. 

It  is  the  One  Infinite  Being  which 
includes  all  beings  and  from  which  all 
beings  came  forth. 

It  is  the  Divine  One,  the  Creator, 
the  Most  High,  the  Only  God.  To 
know  and  to  understand  the  processes 
of  thought,  creation,  activity,  differen- 
tiation and  expression  by  which  the 
Divine  One  operates,  is  to  know  and  to 
understand  the  relation  of  God  to  man 
and  of  man  to  God. 

This  is  the  goal  toward  which  all 
creation  tends,  for  without  this  knowl- 
edge there  is  the  sleep  of  death  and  the 
15 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

mockery  of  a  night  without  a  morning. 

It  is  good,  therefore,  to  study  care- 
fully the  two  viewpoints  from  which 
all  speech  is  formulated. 

One  is  the  viewpoint  of  the  Abso- 
lute which  reveals  the  perfect 
WHOLE ;  the  other,  that  of  the  rela- 
tive from  which  are  seen  the  single 
parts. 

From  the  Absolute,  there  is  known 
only  the  perfect,  the  changeless,  the 
omnipresent 

Speaking  from  this  plane,  Jesus 
said: 

"I  am  the  Resurrection  and  the 
Life."  "Before  Abraham  was,  I  am." 
From  the  relative  plane  or  basis  of 
change,  He  said : 

"Why  callest  thou  me  good?  There 
is  none  good  save  God." 

The  one  Spirit  is  the  one  Life — the 
one  Intelligence,  the  one  changeless 
and  indivisible  Substance. 

16 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

In  our  physical  universe  there  is  but 
one  Light,  namely,  that  which  comes 
from  the  sun. 

The  light  of  the  moon  and  the  stars 
is  but  the  showing  forth  of  this  one 
light. 

That  which  glows  in  the  fire  or  radi- 
ates from  the  flashing  gem  is  from  this 
one. 

So,  there  is  one  spiritual  light. 

There  are  many  reflectors  or  centers 
of  expression.  These  expressions  are 
various,  but  the  source  is  one. 

Take,  then,  the  one  Spirit  itself,  the 
boundless,  the  illimitable.  Its  tangible 
expression  is  vitality;  its  apprehensible 
expression  is  thought;  and  its  visible 
expression  is  body  or  form. 

In  man,  the  tangible,  the  apprehen- 
sible, the  visible,  constitute  what  is 
called  the  relative  or  differentiated  ex- 
pression of  spirit. 

Man,  therefore,  is  one  channel 
17 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

through  which  God  reveals  Himself, 
for  something  of  the  Imminent  One  is 
in  every  expression. 

To  know  the  Infinite,  study  the 
finite. 

But  know  and  remember  that  it 
takes  all  parts  to  represent  the  perfect 
Whole. 

"If,"  as  the  Master  said,  "ye  cannot 
love  your  brother  whom  ye  have  seen, 
how  can  ye  love  God  whom  ye  have 
not  seen?" 

Begin  here. 

Love  purely  or  unselfishly  what  you 
see,  in  order  that  you  may  love  that 
which  you  cannot  see. 

Is  love  something  that  originates  in 
the  body?    No. 

In  the  mind?    No. 

Then  in  what  but  the  spirit,  the  very 
essence  of  Deity,  the  Light  which  ani- 
mates both  the  mind  and  the  body,  does 
it  have  its  origin? 

18 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

Mind  and  body  must  be  channels 
through  which  spirit  as  love  reveals 
itself. 

Where  do  you  see  manifestations  of 
love? 

Not  in  man,  alone,  for  animals,  even 
insects,  show  degrees  of  affection  and 
consideration,  even  to  the  extent  of  a 
willingness  to  lay  down  the  body  for 
the  beloved. 

Is  it  not  true,  then,  that  as  life  is  the 
common  inheritance,  lcve  is  the  com- 
mon gift  of  all  creatures? 

Is  not  creation,  with  all  its  variety, 
but  the  outshowing  of  the  infinity  of  the 
Creator? 

Study,  then,  every  figure  and  every 
fraction  of  a  figure.  Study,  also,  every 
phase  of  the  outer,  in  order  to  see  the 
perfect  image  of  the  inner.  Study 
yourself. 

What  are  you? 

In  the  outmost,  a  creature;  but  in 

19 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

the  inmost,  a  God ;  because  God  is  the 
One  in  the  inmost  and  is  to  be  made 
manifest  in  the  outmost. 

It  is  God  who  lives — not  the  crea- 
ture. It  is  God  who  loves,  not  the 
creature. 

It  is  God  who  knows,  thinks  and 
acts,  not  the  creature. 

Study  your  inmost  and  highest  as  the 
epitome  of  God,  and  your  outmost  as 
the  expression.  The  latter  may  be  true 
or  perverted. 

The  pure,  unsullied,  unselfish  love 
is  of  God. 

The  tainted,  passionate,  selfish  love 
is  of  God,  also,  but  it  is  polluted,  ob- 
structed, deflected  by  the  creature,  its 
channel. 

Shall  we  not  seek  to  remove  obstruc- 
tions that  the  purity  of  the  stream  may 
be  insured? 

It  is  the  self  which  obstructs. 

When  self  is  willing  to  step  aside  in 
20 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

order  that  the  spirit  may  live  in  its 
place,  then  will  the  channel  be  clear 
for  the  descent  oi  the  stream  from  the 
above  to  the  below,  from  the  Absolute 
to  the  relative. 

God,  the  Absolute,  is  not  person,  but 
personal;  not  person  because  not  lim- 
ited to  parts ;  but  personal,  because  ad- 
justable to  all  conditions  of  the  per- 
sonal. 

Thus  love  in  the  concrete,  is  love  in 
expression;  in  the  abstract,  love  is  the 
reality  or  the  truth  of  Being. 

Without  this  knowledge,  the  natural 
man  abuses  his  senses.  This  leads  to 
disappointment,  satiety  and  despair. 

At  this  point  the  soul,  or  inner  man, 
is  stirring  and  awakening  from  sleep. 
In  the  midst  of  the  loneliness  and  deso- 
lation of  the  self-life,  he  yearns  for 
more  life  or  to  part  with  what  he  has. 

When  he  has  reached  this  point,  ex- 
periences must  have  a  meaning,  or  they 
21 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

are  but  tortuous  punishments.  He  is 
wearied  with  struggles  in  the  dark.  He 
is  famished  for  want  of  food  that  will 
satisfy.  He  is  longing  for  this  richer, 
fuller  life,  for  the  real  life  and  true 
acquaintance  with  God. 

If  you  who  read  these  words  are  in 
this  state  of  mind,  re-read  this  chapter. 

SUMMARIZE  INTO  SHORT 
STATEMENTS,  that  you  may  take 
every  word  and  eat,  assimilate  and  di- 
gest it;  thereby,  proving  that  truth  IS 
the  veritable  bread  of  life. 

The  greater  includes  the  less.  There- 
fore, the  Infinite  includes  the  finite.  It 
is  true  that  in  God  we  live  and  move 
and  have  our  being. 

Believe  this  literally.    Then  see! 

In  your  darkness,  you  find  light.  As 
you  believed  yourself  separate,  you 
knew  God  only  in  name.  Now,  believ- 
ing yourself  one  with  Him,  He  is  the 
living,  comforting  Presence. 
22 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

Here  is  the  pith  of  the  matter: 

God  is  the  universal  Life,  Spirit, 
Substance,  Wisdom  —  the  Universal 
and  only  God,  without  form  yet  filling 
all  form. 

Say  these  words  as  earnestly  and 
faithfully  as  if  your  life  depended  upon 
them,  and  say  them  over  and  over  at 
regular  times  each  day. 

Can  you  conceive  the  change  that 
will  come? 

You  will  find  yourself  endowed  with 
a  new  and  blissful  consciousness.  You 
will  have  a  sense  of  peace,  a  feeling  of 
strength.  You  will  be  possessed  by  a 
vibrant  joy,  a  joy  that  you  are  not  alone, 
but  that  a  great  majestic  Something,  an 
Intelligence,  is  back  of  you  and  with 
you,  speaking,  yet  voiceless;  present, 
yet  not  seen;  guiding,  protecting,  in- 
spiring, loving,  counselling,  uplifting, 
empowering — according  to  your  need 
and  willingness  to  receive. 
23 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

Would  it  not  be  a  new  life  to  enter 
into  this  experience? 

"God  only!" 

These  two  words  reduce  the  matter 
to  its  foundation.  Write  them  in  large 
letters  on  a  sheet  of  white  paper;  pin 
them  upon  your  sleeve,  or  put  them 
where  your  eyes  will  meet  them  con- 
tinually, that  they  may  be  imprinted 
upon  your  mind,  and  woven  into  the 
inmost  fibre  of  your  consciousness. 

"God  only",  will  submerge  the  self 
until  it  is  lost  in  GOD. 

When  you  are  weak  or  timid,  or 
shrivelled  with  anxiety,  speak  your 
words ;  speak  firmly,  persistently,  trust- 
fully. Weakness,  fear,  anxiety,  will 
turn  to  ashes  like  dead  leaves  in  a  fire. 

Can  you  be  weak  when  Infinite 
strength,  like  an  exhaustless  fountain, 
is  springing  up  within  you,  filling  your 
whole  being  with  the  subtle  elixir  of 
living  truth? 

24 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

Speak,  then,  "God  only"  with 
praiseful  joy.  Breathe  it  forth  like  a 
benediction  upon  the  world. 

"God  only",  the  Omnipresent. 

God,  the  One,  the  Absolute,  Who  is 
Harmony,  Goodness,  Beauty,  Holiness, 
Peace. 

How  your  soul  will  rise  with  quiver- 
ing, joyful  wings,  eager  to  fly  through 
the  boundless  spaces  of  Infinity! 

How  majestic  the  new  sense  of  Be- 
ing that  will  baptize  and  illumine  your 
mind! 

With  what  different  eyes  will  you 
behold  yourself  and  your  relation  to 
the  world.  With  what  compassion  and 
tenderness  will  you  think  of  your 
neighbor! 

Yet  this  beatific  joy  will  in  no  wise 
take  from  you  the  obligation  or  desire 
to  meet  every  condition  with  exactness 
and  justice.    Far  from  it! 

Have  you  a  duty  to  perform? 
25 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

Because  of  "God  only"  you  will 
bravely  face  it  and  conquer. 

Have  you  conditions  to  overcome — 
hard,  depressing,  painful? 

With  spontaneous  joy,  not  with  re- 
luctance or  protest,  but  as  a  privilege, 
you  will  faithfully  achieve! 

When  you  least  expect  it,  conditions 
will  change  and  your  opportunity  ap- 
pear before  you  like  an  open  doorway; 
or,  some  fair  flower  of  your  faithful- 
ness will  suddenly  bloom  in  your 
pathway,  making  beautiful  the  places 
where  your  feet  may  tread. 

Have  you  little  time  for  meditation 
or  for  spiritual  culture? 

You  will  use  every  moment  wisely, 
cheerfully,  and  this  attitude  will  pre- 
pare the  way  for  better  things. 

All  this  because  you  are  willing  to 
give  a  child's  trustful  obedience  to 
every  word  that  voices  the  truth  of  the 
spirit.    The  old  house  built  by  self  is 

26 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

thus  washed  away,  and  the  true  foun- 
dation laid  for  the  house  of  the  soul, 
the  house  built  through  your  conscious- 
ness and  co-operation  with  the  power 
of  your  God.  This,  no  storms  can 
sweep  away,  no  floods  destroy. 

Days  and  nights  will  come  and  go, 
weeks  slip  into  years,  as  man  counts 
time;  yet  age  will  not  furrow  your 
cheek,  nor  disease  waste  your  frame  if 
faith,  glowing,  sparkling,  shining, 
burns  as  the  flame  of  pure  love  upon 
the  altar  of  your  peaceful  heart. 

And,  this  will  be  as  the  pillar  of 
cloud  by  day,  and  the  pillar  of  fire  by 
night  that  leads  you  out  of  the  wilder- 
ness of  human  nature  into  that  prom- 
ised land  of  Divinity  which  ever  flows 
with  the  milk  and  honey  of  His  Pres- 
ence. 

Looking  forward,  always;  looking 
backward,  never;  you  will  grow  in  the 
grace  and  wisdom  of  the  Spirit  that 

27 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

will  make  you  calm  in  the  midst  of 
confusion,  wise  in  the  midst  of  igno- 
rance, and  strong  to  be  and  to  become 
what  you  will. 

These  words  that  are  spirit  and  that 
are  life — remember  I 

They  are  to  be  spoken  early,  when 
first  the  sun  beams  over  the  horizon; 
or,  when  you  first  arise  in  the  morning. 
Then,  for  at  least  the  space  of  ten  min- 
utes, stand  with  lifted  chest  and  praise- 
ful  eyes,  drawing  deep  draughts  of  the 
sweet,  fresh  air,  and  repeat  in  slow,  in- 
toning voice : 

"God  only.  God  only.  God  only. 
Thou  in  me,  and  I  in  Thee.  Thou 
only  and  evermore.     Amen." 

Again  at  noon,  when  the  stress  of 
physical  life  in  nature  is  at  a  pause,  in 
your  mind  repeat  many  times  and 
often,  even  though  your  comrades  may 
think  that  you  only  eat  and  drink  or 
speak  with  them. 

28 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

Thus  find  the  secret  place;  for  it  is 
even  in  the  midst  of  all  human  activi- 
ties, yet  found  only  when  the  heart  is 
still — when  the  mind  is  detached  from 
outer  things. 

Again  at  night,  before  sleep  comes, 
say  these  words,  until,  stealing  upon 
your  soul,  comes  the  mantle  of  His 
peace. 

/  have  learned  in  this  chapter: 

I.  The  awakening  of  the  spiritual 
life. 

II.  The  value  of  understanding. 

III.  The  meaning  of  the  terms,  Ab- 
solute and  relative. 

IV.  To  study  the  finite  in  order  to 
understand  the  INFINITE. 

V.  To  look  forward,  always. 

VI.  The  meaning  of  real  life. 

VII.  The  specific  means  to  become 
better  acquainted  with  GOD. 

29 


I  LIVE  TODAY  IN  THE  TRUTH,  FOR 
THE  TRUTH,  AND  BY  THE  TRUTH. 


For  whosoever  will  save  his  life  shall  lose  it; 
and  whosoever  will  lose  his  life  for  my 
sake  shall  find  it. — Matthew  16,2$. 

I  am  the  Way,  the  Truth  and  the  Life. — Jesus 
Christ. 


31 


Chapter  II 

THE     SPIRITUAL     SIGNIFI- 
CANCE OF  THE  SENSES 

"Naught  of  myself  I  do!" 

Thus  will  he  think,  who  holds  the  truth  of  truths, 
In  seeing,  hearing,  touching,  smelling;  when 
He  eats,  or  goes,  or  breathes;  slumbers  or  talks, 
Holds  fast  or  loosens,  opes  his  eyes  or  shuts; 
Always  assured:    'this  is  the  sense-world  plays 
With  senses.'     He  that  acts  in  thought  of  Brahm  (God) 
Detaching  end  from  act,  with  act  content, 
The  world  of  senses  can  no  more  stain 
His  soul,  than  waters  mar  th'  enameled  lotus  leaf. 

—Buddha. 

HE  child  new-born  learns 
first  of  the  world  about  him 
through  his  senses  and 
these  teach  him  of  his  body 
and  its  capacities,  of  its  relations  to  en- 
vironments and  of  all  the  wonderful 
variety  of  things  to  be  heard,  seen,  felt, 
tasted  and  touched.  The  senses  are 
avenues  for  connecting  with  the  mate- 
rial world.     Without  them,  he  is  a 

33 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

helpless  dependent,  unable  to  commu- 
nicate or  to  be  communicated  with,  by 
his  kind.  According  to  the  keenness 
and  the  dexterity  of  his  senses,  he  is 
able  not  only  to  take  his  place  among 
men,  but  to  become  proficient  in  all 
manner  of  usefulness. 

Rightly  governed  and  wisely  used, 
the  senses  are  for  the  making  of  his 
character  as  an  individual,  and  for  the 
use  of  his  body  as  a  wonderful  instru- 
ment of  expression. 

The  office  of  the  senses  is  to  convey 
information  concerning  things  in  the 
material  world;  to  make  comparisons; 
to  make  wise  selection  as  to  food  for 
the  body  and  mind;  and,  in  short,  to 
relate  man  to  his  environment. 

The  function  of  the  senses  is  a  dig- 
nity, a  blessed  honor  conferred  by  the 
one  within. 

The  soul  who  sees  and  hears,  feels 
and  tastes,  smells  and  moves,  knows  it 

34 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

is  not  himself,  but  his  senses  (his  ave- 
nues of  contact  with  the  world  with- 
out), that  in  this  higher  use  serve  as 
connecting  links  between  earth  and 
heaven. 

This  one  within,  the  free,  untram- 
meled,  ever  perfect,  is  called  variously, 
the  soul,  the  child  of  God,  the  higher 
self,  etc. 

But  with  any  name  and  in  any  lan- 
guage, it  is  the  Indivisible,  the  Change- 
less, the  Absolute,  and  Only.  He  who 
in  human  form  displays  its  wondrous 
individuality  is  what  is  relatively 
known  as  the  human  being. 

Is  it  not  wonderful,  this  marvelous 
combination  of  God  and  man;  of  God 
humanized  and  man  deified? 

Yet  the  enlightened  man,  the  sense 
man  illuminated,  becomes  the  master, 
the  unconquerable,  manifestly  going 
forth  conquering  and  to  conquer — his 

35 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

first  arena  of  conflict,  the  body;  his 
first  conquest,  the  senses. 

Now  to  the  more  pointed  application 
of  the  lesson,  for  in  its  application  lies 
the  value. 

Have  you  been  faithful  to  your  high- 
est conception  of  God  and  man? 

Then,  in  your  exalted  moments  you 
have  seen  the  vision  of  yourself  as  you 
longed  to  be.  For  in  the  cleansed  and 
praiseful  mind,  God  sets  a  fair  picture 
of  the  ideal  self  as  a  pattern  for  the 
new-found  life,  the  rich  expression  of 
which  is  a  Godlike  character. 

This  picture  looked  upon  with  ear- 
nestness and  loving  faith  will  help  in 
every  conflict  with  the  lower  self,  for 
it  shows  forth  the  points  of  strength, 
the  poise  and  self-control,  the  modera- 
tion in  desires,  the  willingness  to  be 
and  to  do  as  would  the  Lordly  One,  on 
all  occasions. 

See  in  your  mind's  eye  this  ideal  self. 

36 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

See  sweet  patience  displayed  in  its 
countenance  under  sore  provocation. 
Note  its  way  of  dealing  with  conditions 
common  to  daily  life. 

See  renunciation  marked  upon  the 
unruffled  brow  when  thwarting  dis- 
appointment comes. 

See  the  pleasant  smile  that  betokens 
calmness  in  all  the  days  of  dark  or 
sunny  weather,  of  failure  or  success. 

See  the  many  signs  of  that  unswerv- 
ing trust  that  all  is  well,  no  matter 
what  may  seem,  or  what  may  threaten. 

Listen  to  the  gentle,  even  tones  of 
thoughtful  speech,  mark  well  the  music 
of  the  voice,  for  it  is  such  music  that 
charms  away  all  discord. 

Look,  too,  upon  the  dignity  of  mien 
and  carriage,  the  step  that  speaks  of 
courage  and  the  eye  that  beams  with 
hope. 

When  the  battle  wages  between  your 
self  and  your  soul,  because  of  some- 

37 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

thing  seen  or  heard  or  felt  in  a  dark, 
forgetful  moment,  turn  to  this  fair 
vision  of  your  better  self,  your  fair 
ideal. 

Look  long  upon  the  vision  and  say: 
"I,  too,  am  calm.  I  am  full  of  joy.  I 
am  strong  and  wise  and  masterful. 
This  is  my  very  image.  This,  myself 
redeemed."  As  you  say  it,  remember 
the  power  that  through  you  and  in  you 
is  Creator  and  Seer  and  Doer. 

The  senses  rightly  used  are  good  and 
gracious  gifts.  It  is  only  their  per- 
version and  abuse  that  have  brought  re- 
proach and  contumely  upon  them. 

Beware,  then,  of  making  the  mistake 
that  the  world  makes  in  calling  that 
unclean  which  only  unclean  mind  has 
made  so. 

This  refers  not  alone  to  the  senses 
as  such,  but  to  all  judgments  of  men, 
women  or  conditions  which  are  based 
upon  this  impure  view. 
38 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

You  will  find  more  and  more  as  you 
go  on  in  this  higher  life  that  charity  is 
substituted  for  criticism,  and  love  for 
judgment. 

Thus,  only,  comes  the  spiritual  in- 
sight which  interprets  material  sight. 
For,  beyond  and  behind  act,  is  motive. 
As  you  look  for  motive  you  will  under- 
stand and  perhaps  condone  act.  Or,  if 
you  discern  no  motive,  you  may  per- 
ceive the  perfect  ignorance  out  of 
which  the  act  was  born,  and  compas- 
sion, rather  than  condemnation,  will 
move  you  to  brotherly  kindness. 

With  your  own  emancipation  from 
ignorance,  you  will  understand  those 
still  enfolded  in  its  darkness.  Through 
the  senses  comes  attachment.  Make 
every  effort  to  break  these  bonds. 

Do  you  love  some  one  with  most 
selfish  devotion? 

See  that  your  love  is  not  based  upon 
the  perishable  body,  beautiful  and  pre- 

39 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

cious  though  it  may  be.  Rather  think 
upon  the  graces  and  charms  of  the  soul 
which  endure  through  all  eternity. 

While  you  may  enjoy  the  visible 
presence  with  that  moderation  which 
enlightment,  alone,  can  give,  you 
should  realize  that  love  is  of  the  soul 
and  for  the  soul. 

In  this  love  there  is  no  absence,  time 
nor  condition. 

Are  you  attached  to  some  person, 
place  or  thing? 

Begin  at  once  to  see  beyond  the  sym- 
bol, the  form,  to  that  which  is  the  per- 
fect, the  living  being.  School  yourself 
to  be  content  with  or  without  the  pres- 
ence, knowing  that  soul  can  neither 
possess  nor  part  from  that  which  is  of 
itself. 

Pine  not  after  pleasure  for  pleasure's 
sake,  nor  after  aught  that  can  be  given 
or  taken  away.  But,  "set  your  affec- 
tions on  things  above,"  for  here  alone 

40 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

are  the  treasures  which  "neither  moth 
nor  rust  can  corrupt,  where  thieves 
cannot  break  through  nor  steal." 

Renunciation  on  one  plane  is  power 
on  another — a  higher  plane. 

Does  this  mean  that  nothing  on  earth 
can  be  enjoyed,  you  ask? 

Far  from  it.  With  the  illuminated 
senses  all  things  can  be  enjoyed  with  an 
infinitely  greater  joy  because  they  will 
be  rightly  understood  and  valued  for 
what  they  represent,  rather  than  for 
what  they  are. 

Can  the  world  be  less  attractive 
when  it  is  known  as  the  vast  school 
room  where  the  soul  is  taught  life  les- 
sons through  experience? 

Can  the  beauty  of  the  bud,  blossom 
or  insect  be  less  interesting  because  it 
reveals  but  an  infinitesimal  part,  in- 
stead of  the  whole,  of  their  individual 
destiny? 

41 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

Look  with  your  eyes  and  hear  with 
your  ears,  but  let  the  soul  interpret  all. 
And,  in  order  to  hasten  your  realiza- 
tion of  this  supreme  truth,  that  the 
outer  is  but  the  husk  for  the  inner, 
dwell  continually  upon  the  thought 
that  may  be  expressed  thus: 

"I,  the  soul,  am  one  with  my  Father. 
I  am  wise  to  interpret  the  whole  by  the 
visible  parts.  As  soul,  I  am  wise.  I 
understand.  I  know.  All  things  bring 
to  me  a  message;  the  wind,  the  sun- 
beam, the  starlight,  the  insect,  the  ani- 
mal, the  untaught  and  vile  of  human 
beings  as  well  as  the  lovely  and  fair, 
the  incident  and  circumstance  of  daily 
life — all  yield  their  secret,  for  I,  the 
wise,  know  that  the  Lord  God  Om- 
nipotent reigneth  supreme  through  all 
conditions,  persons,  places,  things." 

You  may  break  the  delusions  of  the 
senses,  if  to  this  you  add  constant,  faith- 
ful practice  in  these  words. 

42 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

In  mind,  detaching  your  soul  from 
self  or  sense,  think  of  your  union  with 
It— the  Spirit. 

"I  am  one  with  Thee." 

This  statement  repeated  fervently 
and  often,  will  finally  become  a  convic- 
tion and,  ere  you  are  aware,  your 
thoughts,  speech  and  acts  will  accord 
with  the  truth  that  you,  as  soul,  indi- 
vidualized SPIRIT,  live  as  spirit  in 
the  realm  of  Spirit,  detached  from 
earth,  yet  using  earth  as  one  of  the 
beautiful  mansions  of  the  Most  High. 

As  you  ponder  these  things,  the  true 
meaning  in  every  detail  of  your  human 
experience  will  flash  upon  you  and 
willingly,  yes,  gladly,  will  you  pursue 
your  way  with  eyes  that  see  and  ears 
that  hear. 

J  have  learned  in  this  chapter: 

I.     That  the  senses  rightly  governed 
develop    character    and    develop    the 
body  as  an  instrument. 
43 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

II.  That  the  senses  are  both  spirit- 
ual and  material. 

III.  That  attachment  to  any  person, 
thing  or  condition  may  become  bond- 
age. 

IV.  That  individual  freedom  is  de- 
taching self  from  sense. 

V.  That  renunciation  begets  power. 

VI.  That  the  real  I  is  the  soul,  one 
with  the  FATHER. 

VII.  That  earth  is  one  of  the 
beautiful  mansions  of  the  Most  High. 


44 


I  WILL  LIVE  TODAY,  NOT  ACCORDING 
TO  THE  STANDARDS  OF  THE  SEN- 
SES, BUT  THE  STANDARD  OF  THE 
SPIRIT. 


Judge   not  according   to   the  appearance, 
judge  righteous  judgment. — John  7,  24. 


but 


45 


Chapter  HI 
THE  WILL 

Near  to  renunciation,  very  near 
Dwelleth  eternal  peace. 

— Edwin  Arnold. 
God  introduces  His  will  into  nature  for  the  pur- 
pose of  revealing  His  power  in  light  and  majesty  to 
constitute  a  kingdom  of  joy. — Jacob  Boehme. 

HE  will  is  like  a  lever  that 
lifts  in  any  direction  de- 
sired.   Yet  it  may  also  be 
the  power  that  decides  that 
direction. 

It  is  the  factor  in  human  experience 
which  makes  or  mars  character,  and 
fulfills  or  defeats  every  promise  of 
Nature. 

Unguided,  except  by  the  caprice  of 
the  senses,  it  may  be  the  unworthy 
helmsman  that  steers  the  ship  directly 
onto  the  rocks;  but  exalted,  trained, 

47 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

and  consecrated,  it  may  lead  into  the 
harbor  of  peace  and  safety. 

So  subtle  and  wonderful  is  this 
grand  faculty  that  only  the  closest 
study  and  most  careful  analysis  will 
reveal  either  its  nature,  its  modes  of 
action,  or  its  possibilities. 

From  the  viewpoint  of  ordinary  hu- 
man experience,  it  is  forceful  and 
sometimes  violent;  yet  generally  suc- 
cessful in  the  accomplishment  of  its 
ends.  This  is  the  external  or  positive 
phase. 

There  are  two  aspects  to  every  force. 
One  is  the  positive;  the  other  is  the 
negative. 

Sometimes  this  duality  which  runs 
through  everything  is  called  the  mas- 
culine and  the  feminine. 

The  masculine  corresponds  to  the 
positive,  the  feminine  to  the  passive  or 
negative. 

The  masculine  is  always  the  aggres- 

48 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

sivc,  pushing,  active,  positive  power. 

The  feminine  is  the  passive,  recep- 
tive, hidden. 

Both  are  requisite  in  the  operation 
and  fulfillment  of  any  project,  but 
either  may  be  too  much  in  excess,  there- 
by causing  a  lack  of  balance  between 
the  two,  and  the  consequent  defeat  of 
the  end  to  be  attained. 

As  to  will,  it  is  too  often  only  the 
masculine  phase,  which  is  recognized 
or  brought  into  activity. 

Will,  in  the  natural  sense,  is  what 
may  be  called  mental  brute  force,  be- 
cause it  is  the  same  exhibition  of  vio- 
lent energy  directed  by  will  as  that 
seen  among  animals. 

Masculine  will-force  is  powerful. 
But  its  energies  are  often  convulsive 
and  short  lived,  Hence,  while  it  may 
accomplish  wonders  with  its  explosive 
action,  it  is  not  to  be  relied  upon  for 
the  accomplishment  of  great  ends,  un- 
49 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

less  in  wedded  harmony  with  its  other 
half,  the  feminine. 

Mark  the  illustration  of  this  perfect 
duality  in  the  male  and  female  par- 
ents. The  male  acts  and  gives.  The 
female  receives  and  silently  and  se- 
cretly carries  that  which  she  receives 
to  perfect  fulfillment.  She  is  the  car- 
rying, bringing-to-pass  power;  and, 
while  the  first  exhibition  of  energy  was 
active,  the  final  and  crowning  result 
could  only  be  attained  by  the  patient, 
passive,  secret  work  of  the  helpmeet. 

So  in  the  dual  will,  the  positive  or 
masculine  must  act,  remove  obstruc- 
tions, build  conditions,  and  put  forth 
energy  in  the  initial  step  of  an  under- 
taking. The  feminine  meantime  quietly 
holds,  nurtures,  and  brings  to  fruition. 

Is  this  not  so  in  the  inception  and  ac- 
complishment of  any  earnest  purpose? 

Note  the  man  of  the  world  who  has 
made  a  success  of  himself  or  his  work, 
so 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

Is  he  the  noisy,  boasting,  blustering 
talker?  No.  He  is  the  quiet,  plod- 
ding, tenacious  worker.  He  may  be 
left  far  behind  his  more  brilliant  com- 
petitor. He  may  seem  to  sink  even 
below  mediocrity  as  compared  to  his 
associates  in  the  social  scale,  yet  markl 

There  comes  a  day  when  his  achieve- 
ments are  known,  when  all  the  plod- 
ding, self-denying  toil  of  years  reaps 
a  rich  harvest.  All  this  is  not  so  much 
the  product  of  his  brain,  as  his  will, 
his  feminine  will. 

This  is  a  great  truth.  Think  upon  it 
earnestly. 

No  soul  comes  into  this  world  with- 
out will,  although  some  people  declare 
that  they  have  no  will,  and  bewail  the 
lack.  But  look  deeply  into  their  fun- 
damental nature  and  character. 

Have  you  found  one  who  has  not 
will,  and  who  does  not  exercise  it  in 
51 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

the  direction  of  his  desires?  Nay,  not 
one. 

Upon  the  whole-heartedness  of  his 
desire  everything  depends.  It  may  be 
that  only  with  his  lips  he  wants  this 
or  that.  It  may  be  because  a  friend 
suggested  it,  that  he  wants  it;  it  may 
be  his  dislike  to  be  different  from  his 
neighbors. 

For  all  these  reasons  he  will  often 
fail  in  attaining;  but  if  deep  down  in 
his  heart  he  wants  it  so  that  his  very 
being  demands  it,  behold,  though  all 
the  world  stand  agape  and  thunder 
NO  in  his  ever  unheeding  ears,  he  will 
have  it. 

The  surface  of  the  water  will  make 
but  a  light  wave  that  recedes  quickly, 
causing  no  damage,  but  beware  when 
the  whole  body  returns  in  the  same  di- 
rection at  the  same  time! 

This  is  an  illustration  of  the  dual 
force  and  action  of  the  will ;  the  upper 
52 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

and  lower,  the  outer  and  inner,  acting 
in  concert,  are  absolutely  invincible. 

A  long,  encircling  shore  with  much 
surface  upon  which  to  beat,  breaks  the 
force  of  the  ocean ;  but  the  point  or  out- 
lying crag  receives  the  full  force  of 
every  wave. 

Too  many  aims,  purposes  or  super- 
ficial interests,  scatter  the  force,  and 
divert  the  energy  of  the  will,  so  that 
he  who  is  desultory  in  focussing  his 
will,  lets  its  waves  break  upon  too  wide 
a  shore,  and  so  becomes  merely  com- 
monplace in  character  or  attainment. 

The  first  step  in  cultivating  and 
using  the  magnificent  power  of  the  will 
is  to  concentrate  upon  a  noble  aim,  and 
then  with  single  eye,  and  unswerving 
purpose,  work  to  attain  it. 

You  have  found  your  aim. 

You  can  now  learn  how  to   focus 
your  will  upon  its  attainment.     Heed, 
then,    these    instructions    and    follow 
53 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

them  faithfully,  as  you  have  so  far  fol- 
lowed those  which  have  been  given 
already. 

Your  purpose  is  noble.  You  seek  to 
live  the  true,  unselfish,  the  spiritual 
life,  meaning  by  that  the  life  that  ac- 
cords with  your  highest  conception  of 
what  is  God-like. 

You  have  learned  that  the  first  step 
is  to  dethrone  self,  and  enthrone  God — 
that  is,  your  appropriation  of  God, 
which  is  your  higher  self,  spirit. 

You  have  learned,  also,  that  the  right 
use  of  the  senses  is  as  interpreters,  not 
as  dictators.  You  say  you  really  want 
the  Christly  character  that  is  given  to 
those,  only,  who  are  willing  to  lay 
down  their  lives  for  it. 

Do  you  mean  that? 

Will  you  lay  down  or  renounce,  be- 
come  detached   from   that  which,   as 
long  as  you  are  bound  or  attached  to  it, 
will  hinder  your  progress? 
54 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

Are  you  willing  to  say:  "Whatever 
it  costs  I  shall  be  true  to  my  aim!" 

This  is  concentration  of  will. 

The  positive  force  of  your  will,  will 
quickly  sweep  all  obstacles  aside,  and 
make  conditions  by  which  the  gentle 
feminine  may  bring  to  pass  your  heart's 
desire. 

But  to  the  problem. 

You  have  found,  ere  this,  that  the 
subjection  and  dethronement  of  the 
senses,  and  hence  of  the  self,  are  not 
accomplished  with  a  mere  wish. 

So  deeply  ingrained  in  the  very  fibre 
of  your  being,  are  the  erroneous  views, 
ideas  and  principles  inculcated  by 
ages  of  perverted  sense  use  on  the 
part  of  the  race,  as  well  as  your  own 
years  of  crude  ignorance,  that  many  a 
time,  even  after  you  have  intellectually 
accepted  the  higher  truth,  your  old 
habits  and  inclinations  will  force  a  bat- 
55 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

tie  wherein  you  will  be  victor  or  van- 
quished. 

You  may  be  tempted  to  judge  some 
one,  or  to  yield  to  a  sensual  desire.  This 
is  your  opportunity  to  prove  the  value 
of  the  consecrated  will. 

Will  you,  or  will  you  not,  be  true  to 
your  highest  in  emergency? 

"True  to  the  death,"  declares  your 
soul. 

"True  to  the  death,"  echoes  the 
heart. 

"True  to  the  death,"  urges  the  mind. 

"True  to  the  death,"  thunders  the 
will,  and,  gathering  all  the  forces  of 
soul,  heart  and  mind,  positive  Will 
hurls  them  full  upon  the  temptations 
and  they  are  broken. 

Strengthened  and  encouraged  by 
success,  both  phases  of  will  gain  in 
power  and  cumulative  force  until  final 
victory  is  won. 

56 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

In  the  interim  between  these  crises 
there  is  a  steady  growth  in  power,  a 
steadily  increasing  capacity  for  adjust- 
ment to  the  new  standard,  provided  all 
means  are  taken  to  nurture  the  will, 
and  keep  ever  bright  the  fire  of  true 
purpose. 

Some  means  have  already  been  sug- 
gested, in  the  words  given  for  continu- 
ous and  daily  practice,  and  while  you 
will  notice  different  effects  upon  your 
mentality  by  the  quality  of  different 
words,  "GOD  ONLY,"  quickens  your 
sense  of  reverence  and  your  realization 
of  the  Omnipotent  Power. 

The  more  you  realize  Its  mightiness, 
the  more  do  you  desire  to  be  one  with 
It;  to  let  IT  use  you  as  ITS  channel. 

To  repeat  these  words  understand- 
ing^ and  reverently,  puts  the  will  in 
the  right  attitude  toward  the  Divine. 

Selfishness  shrinks  to  nothingness  in 
the  majesty  of  Omnipotence. 
57 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

To  be  filled  with  the  consciousness 
of  the  Highest,  is  to  forget  and  forego 
the  lowest.  This  you  have  already- 
proven  to  a  degree. 

In  the  second  step  wherein  you  look 
at  your  ideal  self,  have  you  not  already 
found  it  to  be  like  looking  to  the  ideal, 
or  to  a  true  friend,  who  believes  in 
your  best  only? 

Is  not  your  heart  warmed  and  your 
mind  fired  with  an  increased  desire  to 
be  all  that  you  admire  in  that  fair 
ideal? 

Will  you  not  press  on  with  unflag- 
ging zeal  to  the  perfect  unfoldment  of 
so  fair  a  seed  as  God  has  placed  within 
you — namely:  that  part  of  Himself, 
which  it  is  your  privilege  to  exter- 
nalize as  your  individuality? 

You  will  perceive  that  the  method  of 
uprooting    old    and    implanting    new 
habits,  is  by  the  expulsive  power  of 
new  interests  and  new  affections. 
58 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

LOVE  the  right  and  the  wrong  will 
die  of  starvation. 

LOVE  the  ideal.  Think  upon  it. 
Give  yourself  to  it,  follow  it,  admire 
it,  absorb  it.  Bye  and  bye  it  will  ab- 
sorb you,  and  expel  all  unworthiness 
from  your  motive,  thought  or  life. 

The  third  step  is  one  directly  con- 
cerning the  alliance  of  the  human  with 
the  Divine  will. 

Herein  lies  the  kernel. 

You  therefore  deliberately  face  the 
whole  question,  when  you  say  with 
heart,  soul  and  mind: 

"My  self-will  is  lost  in  Divine  will. 
Not  mine,  but  Thine,  O  Father.  Teach 
me  Thy  will,  for  Thy  will  is  law,  Thy 
law  is  LOVE.  Now,  do  I  give  over 
all  selfish  aims,  that  I  may  know 
the  Divine  aim,  and  accomplish  the 
fulfillment  of  the  Divine  Will." 

Repeat  this  prayerfully  night  and 
morning  with  such  additions  as  come 

59 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

to  your  lips,  and  as  a  vital  aid  in  chang- 
ing the  polarization  of  your  will,  and 
holding  your  thought  steadfast  to  the 
one  purpose. 

At  midday,  practice  the  following 
exercise  for  seven  days : 

Sit  upright  in  a  straight-backed 
chair,  with  feet  squarely  touching  the 
floor,  and  with  deep,  slowly  indrawn 
breath  think  silently  the  word  "Di- 
vine." 

With  the  exhaling  breath  think 
"Will."    Take  several  such  breaths. 

Then  sit  quietly,  assuming  that  you 
are  verily  at  one  with  Divine  Will,  and 
that  whatsoever  comes  to  you  to  be 
done,  His  will  empowers  you  to  do, 
with  His  LOVE  and  His  POWER. 

Sit  thus,  twenty  minutes,  if  possible; 
if  not,  as  long  as  you  can.  In  brief,  give 
yourself  to  God.  "Commit  thy  way 
unto  Him." 

Every  effort  you  make  to  overcome 
60 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

conditions  is  so  much  exercise  in  the 
right  direction  of  controlling  your  will. 

In  the  ordinary  routine  of  daily  life 
you  will  find  many  opportunities  to 
prove  your  sincerity  and  test  your 
strength.  Some  persons  may  wilfully 
misrepresent  you;  may,  indeed,  say 
that  which  in  other  eyes  may  prove  an 
injury  to  you.  Naturally,  human  will 
would  resent  and  oppose  as  well  as 
punish  such  offense. 

Wait.    Something  whispers : 

"Be  silent.  Let  none  but  gentle  and 
wise  words  issue  from  your  lips." 

If  it  seem  hard  to  obey  the  inner 
monitor,  breathe  in  and  breathe  out: 
"Divine  Will,"  only  a  few  times,  and 
this  danger  is  past. 

Divine  Will  is  always  for  harmony, 
for  peace,  for  forgiveness,  for  love,  and 
for  gentleness. 

Does  your  heart  grow  warm  toward 
the  offender?    Do  you  feel  that  all  of- 

61 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

fense  is  as  nothing  compared  to  your 
great  desire  for  peace  in  his  or  her 
heart  as  well  as  in  your  own? 

Then  has  Divine  Will  been  mani- 
fested in  you,  and  great  indeed  is  your 
reward  for  the  effort  made. 

In  this  progress  toward  the  higher 
life,  and  especially  in  the  discipline  of 
the  will,  you  will  find  that  the  law  of 
growth  is:  that  only  as  the  lesser  some- 
thing is  lost,  is  the  greater  something 
gained. 

In  nature's  kingdom,  the  baby  bird, 
featherless  and  helpless,  breaks  and  de- 
stroys the  only  protection  it  knows, — its 
shell,  to  emerge  into  a  great  unknown 
world.  It  knows  not,  "what  next,"  nor 
even  questions ;  yet  the  Divine  Will  for- 
ever making  love  manifest,  has  already 
provided  the  warm  breast  of  the 
mother  and  implanted  in  the  hearts  of 
both  parent-birds  the  love  and  will  to 
protect  and  to  feed  the  helpless  baby. 

62 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

GIVE,  GIVE.  Give  wherever  you 
are,  whatsoever  you  can. 

Yea,  though  it  be  your  happiness, 
your  strength,  your  very  life. 

Give,  not  thinking  to  receive  again. 
Give  for  love's  sake,  for  truth's  sake, 
for  the  sake  of  God  but  not  for  the  sake 
of  self.  This  is  the  impelling  com- 
mand always,  when  the  soul  awakens 
and  girds  itself  for  action. 

So,  whatever  you  have  prized,  be  it 
riches,  happiness,  fame,  friendship, 
pleasure,  comfort,  be  willing  at  any 
moment,  if  need  be,  to  renounce  all  for 
the  sake  of  obedience  to  the  Divine 
Will,  the  law  of  Love. 

Do  you  question  as  to  the  wisdom  of 
blind  obedience? 

Take  your  eyes  from  the  apparent 
end,  the  disaster,  the  sorrow,  the  depri- 
vation, that  in  your  view  would  ensue, 
and  see  without  a  horizon. 

Can  you  perceive  the  all-enveloping 
63 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

Good,  beyond  and  above  human  boun- 
daries, that  waits  upon  and  inspires  all 
things  entrusted  to  its  care? 

Does  this  seem  beyond  reason? 

Wait!    Here  is  an  illustration. 

Go  to  the  ocean.  Throw  yourself 
upon  its  bosom.  While  you  clutch  and 
gasp  and  cower  from  its  embrace,  you 
see  only  danger  and  death  lurking  in 
its  caress. 

But  let  go  your  fear.  Relax  your 
tense  muscles.  Give  your  body  to  the 
lapping  water,  move  your  limbs  in  har- 
mony with  the  waves  that  kiss  your 
face. 

See  the  wondrous  result!  When  your 
senses  frightened  you  with  death  pic- 
tures, you  were  an  abject  miserable 
slave,  chained  by  your  awful  fears. 
But  when  you  gave  up,  renounced  fear 
and  said: 

"Take  my  body.  I  give  it  wholly, 
completely,  and  will  die,  if  need  be, 
64 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

in  order  to  gain  this  experience."  Lol 
the  water  held  you  tenderly,  laughed 
with  you,  played  with  you,  and  gave 
you  back,  not  only  the  body,  but  a  new 
power,  a  rare  exhilarating  strength  to 
be  master  in  a  new  sphere  and  have 
command  over  a  new  element. 

So  does  the  All-Wise  Love  woo  you 
to  a  more  complete  renunciation  of 
that  which  self  holds  dear,  in  order  to 
give  you  greater  gifts,  and  to  show  you 
the  larger  realm  wherein  your  soul 
will  have  a  more  abundant  life,  and 
that  rare  commanding  power  which  is 
for  him  alone,  who  conquers  self. 

/  have  learned  in  this  chapter: 

I.  The  necessity  of  co-operation  in 
the  two  phases  of  the  will. 

II.  That  a  perfect  balance  is  gained 
by  right  adjustment  of  the  will. 

III.  That  detachment  and  renun- 
ciation mean  to  the  developing  soul 

65 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

what  the  decaying  kernel  means  to  the 
life  germ  hidden  within  it. 

IV.  Concentrated  will  brings   suc- 
cessful attainment. 

V.  The  sequential  value  of  obedi- 
ence is  development. 

VI.  Oneness  with  God  follows  the 
conquering  of  self. 

VII.  The  secret  of  the  more  abun- 
dant life. 


66 


TODAY  LET  ME  REMEMBER  THAT  I 
CAME  INTO  THE  WORLD,  TO  DO 
GOD'S  WILL,  NOT  MY  OWN. 


Not  as   I  will*   but  as   Thou  wilt. — Matthew 
26,  3Q. 


67 


Chapter  IV 
THE  THOUGHT  REALM 

If  you  desire  to  walk  upon  the  path  of  light  to 
eternal  happiness,  do  not  for  one  moment  forget  that 
you  are  living  in  the  consciousness  of  Him  whose 
power  created  the  world. 

ITH  the  letting  go  of  self 
there  will  be  new  experi- 
ences in  a  new  world — a 
world  of  thought,  feeling, 
perception.  Mental  barriers  and  limi- 
tations will  be  removed.  Everything 
in  the  visible  world  will  become,  as  it 
were,  a  key  to  something  else  in  the 
invisible. 

With  the  letting  go  of  self-stand- 
ards of  knowledge,  there  will  be  uni- 
versal standards. 

The  personal  I  in  the  self  world  is 
the  pivot  upon  which  turns  all  interests, 

69 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

but  when  put  in  abeyance  permits  of 
enlarging  interests  and  a  broadening 
view.  Then,  apprehension  of  univer- 
sal law  begins,  and  also  the  ability  to 
interpret  phenomena. 

The  class  of  experiences  which  will 
come  to  you,  will  reveal  the  greater 
depth  and  complexity  of  being.  The 
inner  vision  or  capacity  for  seeing  in- 
teriorly, will  be  developed  and  you 
will  see  mental  images,  which  typify 
qualities  and  degrees  of  consciousness. 

You  will  remember  that  every  visible 
thing  is  but  a  type  of  an  invisible  and 
that  all  things  are  but  types  of 
thoughts. 

The  whole  external  universe  is  the 
outpicturing  of  thoughts  of  the  In- 
finite Mind. 

When  consciousness  becomes  intro- 
spective or  interior,  the  inner  vision 
may  see  mental  images,  which  either 

70 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

have  not  been  externalized,  or,  if  so, 
have  passed  from  the  external  plane. 

As,  for  example,  books  that  have 
been  written  may  have  been  destroyed, 
yet  the  ideas  which  they  expressed  and 
even  the  form  of  their  expression  as 
books  still  remain  in  the  interior  or 
mental  world. 

The  mind,  therefore,  which  with- 
draws itself  from  the  external  plane 
and  becomes  consciously,  or  even  un- 
consciously, active  in  this  inner  realm, 
may  perceive  and  thus  appropriate  and 
re-express  the  ideas  or  types  of  mental 
images  which  are  indestructible. 

This  is  the  key  to  many  an  inspiring 
speech,  poem  or  invention  which  may 
be  uttered  or  given  to  the  world  in  the 
same  form  of  expression  as  that  which 
thought  or  voiced  it  in  ages  past  or  the 
same  ideas  may  be  expressed  in  various 
forms,  according  to  the  individual 
channel  through  which  they  pass. 

71 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 
"There   is  nothing  new  under  the 


sun." 


The  external  man  breathes  the  same 
air  and  eats  of  the  same  food,  yet  he 
appropriates  according  to  his  individ- 
uality; so,  the  inner  man,  using  the 
same  thought-substance,  being  subject 
to  the  same  mental  influences,  appro- 
priates ideas  and  expresses  them  ac- 
cording to  his  individuality. 

This  explains  the  differentiation  of 
all  soul  or  mind  expression. 

The  greater  knowledge  brings  the 
greater  light  and  with  every  ascend- 
ing step  in  the  ladder  of  perfection 
there  is  an  increased  understanding  of 
the  Infinite. 

This  understanding  of  the  universal 
law  and  the  complexity  of  being,  is  like 
light,  the  light  inherent  in  every  soul, 
the  light  which  brings  revelation  of 
God  as  the  Creator  of  the  universe,  as 

72 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

the  Father  of  souls,  as  the  omnipresent 
Love,  the  omnipotent  Power. 

This  light  (Intelligence),  awaken- 
ing in  the  consciousness,  illumines  all 
things  and  is,  as  it  were,  like  an  uni- 
versal atmosphere  of  knowledge,  in 
which  souls  exist  as  souls. 

This  wonderful  sea  of  Intelligence, 
or  Light,  like  the  material  ocean,  has 
many  channels  or  currents,  like  rivers 
running  in  all  directions. 

These  thought-rivers,  or  currents, 
contain  images  on  certain  subjects.  For 
example : 

All  thoughts  imaging  fear  form  a 
river  filled  with  mental  pictures  of 
what  has  been,  or  is,  feared.  All 
thoughts  representing  praise,  joy,  glad- 
ness, constitute  a  river  the  quality  of 
which  is  joyous,  the  pictures  in  which 
are  beautiful.  What  a  beautiful  pic- 
ture of  faith  is  presented  in  the  23rd 
Psalm. 

73 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

Negative  and  dark  thought-currents 
run  as  muddy,  thick,  polluted  waters. 

Positive,  bright,  happy  thoughts 
make  sunny,  sparkling,  pellucid 
streams,  invigorating  and  buoyant. 

Poetry,  art,  science,  religion,  all  have 
as  many  streams  in  this  universal 
thought-ocean,  as  there  are  differenti- 
ated classes  of  thoughts  about  these 
subjects. 

Whosoever  is  susceptible  to  fear  will 
attract  to  his  own  mind  the  conditions 
that  belong  to  the  class  of  fear  which 
possess'es  him — fear  of  accident,  for  in- 
stance; or  of  sickness,  or  death,  and, 
also,  his  consciousness  will  be  sub- 
merged in  the  fear  currents  of  the 
mind-ocean  of  the  world. 

On  the  contrary,  whosoever  chooses 
to  formulate  and  hold  happy  thoughts 
will   ally    himself   with    the  thought- 
currents  of  happiness  or  courage. 
74 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

Do  you  long  for  knowledge  on  any 
special  subject? 

Then  open  your  mind  to  the  foun- 
tain-head, the  Supreme  Source,  and 
also  to  the  influx  from  the  thought- 
river  containing  such  knowledge. 

Put  your  question  definitely,  with- 
draw all  thought  from  the  external 
world  and  be  still ;  that  is,  cease  think- 
ing, as  though  when  you  have  asked  a 
question  of  a  friend  who  stands  by  your 
side,  you  wait  for  the  answer. 

In  this  interior  stillness,  wherein  is 
to  be  found  the  inner  vision  and  the 
perception  of  things  in  the  etheric 
world,  you  will  receive  the  answer;  if 
not  in  that  moment,  in  a  similar  one  at 
another  time. 

You  are  asking  the  question  of  Infi- 
nite Intelligence. 

This,  being  omnipresent,  causes  the 
answer  to  flow  into  your  mind  in  such 

75 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

form  as  will  best  appeal  to  your  own 
understanding. 

It  is  your  ability  to  be  still,  that  en- 
ables you  to  receive  the  knowledge. 

It  may  be  conveyed  to  you  as  a  feel- 
ing, a  wordless  understanding;  or,  by  a 
vision,  or  mental  images  which  are 
symbolic  of  the  idea  to  be  conveyed. 

If  you  do  not  understand  at  first, 
wait  for  understanding. 

Even  though  you  are  unanswered  for 
days,  keep  the  receptive  mind  open  on 
this  subject.  The  interpretation  will 
be  given  as  you  are  ready  to  receive  it, 
and  thus  you  will  begin  the  practical 
life  in  this  thought  realm. 

You  will  learn  that  in  this  interior 
world  there  is  nothing  to  keep  you 
from  receiving  what  you  are  ready  to 
appropriate;  whether  it  be  knowledge 
or  power,  patience,  courage,  or  graces 
and  gifts  of  the  Spirit. 

You  will  perceive  that  you  are  living 

76 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

on  the  new  basis,  the  basis  of  soul,  not 
body. 

You  are  learning  the  language  of 
soul,  and  all  the  various  experiences 
which  come  to  either  the  mind  or  soul 
will  more  fully  enlighten  the  mind  and 
add  to  your  knowledge  of  the  law. 

You  will  begin  to  realize,  also,  that 
on  this  soul  basis  spiritual  qualities  ex- 
ist and  that  they  form  connecting  links 
between  you  and  God,  between  you  and 
all  souls. 

In  proportion  as  you  appreciate  and 
feel  the  depth  and  greatness  of  spirit- 
ual quality,  it  will  be  manifested  in 
your  individuality. 

This  is  but  the  radiation  of  God'h 
love  in  the  human  soul,  and  when  it  is 
consciously  recognized  it  makes  char- 
acter spiritual,  for  it  puts  into  that 
character  the  tenderness  and  gentleness, 
humility  and  grace,  which  only  love 
bestows. 

77 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

To  covet  earnestly  the  best  gifts  is 
first  of  all  to  covet  the  supreme  Love, 
that  radiation  from  God  which  is  the 
foundation  of  all  good  gifts  and  which 
makes  human  life  the  expression  of  the 
divine. 

Not  until  self  is  lost  or  set  aside,  can 
soul  predominate  in  life  and  character. 
The  experiences  which  come  to  one 
who  is  seeking  to  establish  his  life  on 
this  basis  will  be  many  and  diverse. 

They  will  pertain  to  the  life  on  the 
three-fold  plane  of  being,  the  physical, 
the  mental,  and  the  spiritual. 

On  the  physical  plane  he  may  meet 
with  opposition,  with  menacing  con- 
ditions. It  is  for  him  to  overcome  all 
opposition  and  change  the  aspect  of 
conditions. 

On  the  mental  plane  he  may  find 
much  to  depress  his  mind  and  to  deflect 
his  aims.  It  is  for  him  to  conquer  de- 
pression and  to  make  high  and  holy 
78 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

and  powerful  his  moral  purposes.  This 
can  only  be  accomplished  by  realizing 
the  nature  of  his  real  being — by  taking 
his  stand  on  the  spiritual  basis,  as  soul 
or  spirit. 

Spiritually,  he  is  the  off-spring  of 
God,  capable  of  insights  into  the  mean- 
ing of  Omniscience,  which  is  All-wis- 
dom; of  Omnipotence,  which  is  All- 
power;  and,  of  Omnipresence,  which 
is  All-presence. 

As  a  spiritual  being,  therefore,  he 
knows,  not  only  abstract  truth,  but  con- 
crete fact. 

He  knows  and  can  only  say:  "I 
know." 

This  is  truth  applicable  to  the  vary- 
ing conditions  of  the  external  life ;  for, 
as  spirit,  though  he  possesses  mind  and 
body,  they  are  but  the  means  of  ex- 
pressing the  soul's  knowledge  and 
power. 

In  the  midst  of  all  relative  condi- 
79 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

tions,  to  assume  spiritual  knowledge  is 
the  first  step  toward  adjusting  them. 
By  so  doing,  he  is  merely  acting  upon 
the  basis  that  the  spirit  is  his  real  be- 
ing, the  immortal  and  perfect  I. 

This  being,  the  real  child  of  God, 
is  not  subject  to  any  earthly  conditions, 
hence  it  may  say:  "I  am  master.  As 
master  I  direct,  govern  and  change 
all  material  relations  and  conditions. 

"As  spirit,  I  know. 

"As  spirit,  I  have  graces  and  gifts 
from  the  Father.  I  live  in  the  Father, 
and  the  Father  lives  in  me." 

This  is  what  is  meant  by  the  spiritual 
basis. 

You  can  see  now  why,  though  you 
may  meet  with  obstacles  on  the  phys- 
ical plane,  yet  having  the  spiritual  in- 
sight, your  wisdom  will  enable  you  to 
control  and  wisely  master  them. 

On  the  mental  plane,  though  you 
may  meet  wJth  discouragement,  with 

80 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

sorrow  or  mental  strife,  yet  realizing 
that  the  spirit  is  above  earthly  con- 
ditions, you  may  overcome  and  banish 
every  cloud. 

On  the  moral  plane,  though  you  may 
meet  with  evil  and  temptation,  yet,  if 
you  remember  to  acknowledge  your 
spiritual  power,  you  may  win  the  vic- 
tory over  every  allurement. 

Having  the  wisdom  of  the  spirit,  you 
will  understand  what  is  commonly 
called  your  lower  nature  and  you  will 
deal  with  it  as  with  a  child  that  needs 
training  and  discipline;  yet,  in  your 
education  of  this  child  (your  lower  or 
self-nature),  you  will  neither  severely 
condemn  nor  harshly  criticize,  but  you 
will  at  all  times  have  the  patience,  yet 
the  firmness  which  wisdom  alone  can 
give,  because  you  have  not  only  the 
wisdom  but  the  love  inherent  in  the 
spirit. 

81 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

As  you  thus  learn  to  deal  with  your- 
self in  the  spirit  of  love,  you  will  learn, 
also,  how  to  deal  in  love  with  your 
fellowmen. 

As  you  find  gentleness  and  due  ap- 
preciation of  every  effort  conducive  to 
the  spiritual  development  of  your  nat- 
ural man  (or  child),  you  will  find, 
also,  that  gentleness  and  appreciation 
are  conducive  to  the  regeneration  and 
betterment  of  your  fellow  creatures. 

Thus  will  you  put  into  practice  the 
"Love  which  is  the  fulfilling  of  the 
law." 

Love  is  not  only  the  redeeming  and 
regenerating  power,  but  it  is  that  which 
makes  for  perfection. 

He  who  has  in  his  heart  love,  which 
is  invisible,  will  finally  make  manifest 
the  fruit  of  love,  which  is  the  visible 
perfection  of  character. 

In  love  there  is  no  condemnation, 
there  is  no  partiality;  there  is  no  seeing 

82 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

of  evil;  there  is  no  limitation;  there  is 
no  respect  of  persons. 

To  find,  then,  that  love  is  of  God 
is  to  find  the  light  that  shall  shine  upon 
and  make  glorious  your  earthly  nature. 

Study  these  fundamental  truths,  if 
you  would  know  more  and  still  more 
concerning  the  illimitable  and  bound- 
less. 

Withdraw  your  thoughts  more  and 
more  from  the  narrowness  of  petty 
conditions ;  fix  them  upon  the  vast  and 
wonderful  reality  of  the  Infinite. 

You  will  then  redeem  conditions. 

In  the  morning  and  at  night  let  your 
first  and  last  thought  be  of  the  majes- 
tic and  supreme  Divinity,  in  which  you 
live  and  move  and  have  your  being. 

Make  ready  your  mind  and  body 
for  the  duties  and  experiences  of  the 
day,  by  living  continually  in  the  shin- 
ing light  of  this  thought: 

"I,  as  spirit-soul,  having  mind  and 
83 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

body,  move  among  the  people  about  me 
and  in  the  midst  of  conditions  around 
me  as  one  illuminated.  As  the  radi- 
ance of  the  Spirit  of  God  is  in  my 
spirit,  I  open  the  doors  of  my  mind 
and  let  the  radiance  of  the  spirit  per- 
meate every  thought  and  shine  in  every 
word.  With  the  consciousness  that  all 
power  is  God's  power  and  all  knowl- 
edge God's  knowledge,  I  realize  that 
in  me  and  through  me  God  speaks; 
that  it  is  no  longer  I,  the  mortal,  but  I, 
the  immortal,  who  lives  and  dispenses 
the  bounty  of  God." 

If  you  repeat  this,  ten  or  fifteen  min- 
utes while  still  in  your  chamber,  you 
will  indeed  go  forth  as  one  illumined. 

No  words,  however  harsh,  will  hurt 
you,  no  discord  will  move  you  from 
your  serenity,  no  clouds  of  evil  or  fear 
will  veil  from  your  sight  the  light  of 
His  presence;  and,  whether  you  speak 
or  are  silent,  whether  you   sleep  or 

84 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

wake,  the  quality  of  your  spirit  and 
your  consciousness  will  be  felt  and 
known  as  a  light  to  those  who  sit  in 
darkness. 

This  is  the  goal  toward  which  your 
aspirations  and  your  desires  lead  you. 

If,  for  a  moment  or  a  period,  you 
lose  your  high  outlook  or  the  remem- 
brance of  your  spiritual  being,  you 
may  be  caught  in  the  storm  of  fear  or 
buffeted  by  the  winds  of  adversity, 
and  the  high  waves  of  the  sea  of  human 
ignorance. 

Recall  yourself  quickly. 

Fly  again  to  the  rock  which  is  your 
sure  foundation  —  His  all-encircling 
Presence. 

Remember — have  no  condemnation 
for  yourself  or  for  any  person,  thing, 
or  condition.  * 

Take  the  broad  view  on  all  ques- 
tions. 

85 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

Look  for  that  which  is  back  of  every 
condition. 

Thus  only  will  you  be  able  to  de- 
velop the  inner  sight  or  spiritual  per- 
ception in  relation  to  outer  things. 

It  is  step  by  step  that  the  mountain 
of  truth  may  be  climbed,  and  moment 
by  moment,  that  the  spiritual  power 
may  be  brought  into  the  natural  life. 

The  sea  of  light  is  the  realm  of  un- 
derstanding, wherein  there  is  nothing 
hidden  that  will  not  be  revealed. 

Let  the  light  of  love  grow  more  and 
more  into  the  radiance  of  the  perfect 
day. 

"According  to  His  divine  power  He 
hath  given  unto  us  all  things  that  per- 
tain unto  life;  whereby  are  given  unto 
us  exceeding  great  and  precious  prom- 
ises that  by  these  ye  might  be  partakers 
of  the  Divine  nature;  for  if  ye  do  these 
things  ye  shall  never  stumble." — II. 
Peter,  Chapter  I.  • 

86 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

/  have  learned  in  this  chapter: 

I.  That  personal  and  limited  stand- 
ards of  knowledge  must  be  relin- 
quished, if  not  in  accord  with  universal 
truth. 

II.  The  power  and  scope  of  thought. 

III.  That  it  is  necessary  to  learn  to 
be  still  in  mind  in  order  to  receive  in- 
terior knowledge. 

IV.  The  danger  of  wrong  habits  of 
thinking. 

V.  How  to  overcome  fear. 

VI.  To  take  a  broad  view  on  all 
questions. 

VII.  That  love  is  the  light  of  life. 


87 


EVERY  HOUR  OF  TODAY,  I  MUST  SET 
A  GUARD  OVER  MY  THOUGHTS 
THAT  THEY  MAY  BUILD  BEAUTY 
INTO  MY  MIND,  BODY  AND  EN- 
VIRONMENT. 


For  as  he  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he. — 
Proverbs  23,  7. 


Chapter  V 

THE   ILLUMINED   LIFE 

Thought  is  best  when  the  mind  is  gathered  into 
herself  and  none  of  the  things  trouble  her,  neither 
sounds,  nor  sights,  nor  pain,  nor  any  pleasure,  when 
she  has  as  little  as  possible  to  do  with  the  body,  but 
is  aspiring  after  true  being. — Socrates. 

ITH  the  spiritual  life  will 
eome  new  powers. 

There  will  be  now  the 
necessity  of  conscientiously 
using  every  faculty. 

As  we  have  seen  the  possibility  of 
regenerating  the  will,  we  shall  see,  also, 
the  possibility  of  regenerating  the 
judgment,  and  here  again  will  be  the 
great  advantage  of  the  spiritual  basis, 
for  this  gives  us  new  standards  and 
high  outlooks. 

With  the  clearer  insight  comes  clear 
discrimination  as  to  the  right  class  of 

91 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

thought  and  the  right  mode  of  pro- 
cedure. 

There  is  one  thing  especially  to 
which  you  should  give  earnest  heed: 
Put  aside  all  prejudices.  Prejudice  is 
like  an  adamantine  wall,  which  pre- 
vents the  mind  from  perceiving  that 
which  is  beyond. 

As  you  grow  more  and  more  into  the 
warmth  and  tenderness  of  the  love-life, 
your  love  will  melt  away  these  walls, 
and  you  will  find  the  blessedness  of 
"doing  as  you  would  be  done  by,"  not 
because  of  the  letter  of  the  law,  which 
bids  you  do  for  duty's  sake,  but  be- 
cause of  the  sweet  spontaneity  of  your 
loving  spirit. 

Having  this  close  acquaintance  with 
your  own  "natural  man,"  knowing  its 
follies  and  weaknesses,  its  yearnings 
and  strivings  after  the  spiritual  life, 
you  will  know  the  "natural  man"  of 
your  brother. 

92 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

You  will  judge  his  weaknesses  as 
you  would  like  to  have  him  judge 
yours. 

You  will  be  able  to  imagine  yourself 
in  his  place  and  sympathize  with  him 
in  his  discouragements,  his  hopes  and 
his  distressing  circumstances. 

Thinking  of  him  as  the  little  child 
who  needs  training,  teaching  and  lov- 
ing, you  will  thereby  be  able  to  serve 
him  in  the  true  brotherly  spirit. 

If  he  has  committed  a  wrong  against 
society  and  is  pursued  with  condemna- 
tion and  punishment,  you,  as  his  bro- 
ther, will  seek  to  comfort  and  to  lead 
him  into  the  higher  and  better  way. 

This  will  be  done  by  your  sympathy, 
your  good  advice,  your  heartfelt  fel- 
lowship, for  you  will  know  that  the 
more  widely  he  has  transgressed,  the 
more  deeply  does  he  need  your  love 
and  advice,  and  service. 

You  have  no  prejudice  against  him, 
93 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

even  though  his  acts  must  be  discoun- 
tenanced and  forbidden,  for  you  will 
be  able  to  separate  him  from  his  acts. 

You  will  see  him  as  God's  child,  in 
his  natural  state — weak,  erring,  sinful, 
unhappy;  yet,  in  his  spiritual,  essen- 
tial being,  strong  and  perfect  as  any 
soul  in  God's  family. 

In  the  same  way  you  will  see  all 
God's  children  in  this  spiritual  love 
light.  You  will  judge  man,  woman  or 
child,  not  as  an  offender,  however  he 
may  offend  according  to  human  stand- 
ards, but  as  one  of  the  "little  ones." 

This  would  not  be  possible  were  you 
to  harbor  in  your  heart  any  kind  of 
prejudice. 

You  see  people  whose  principles  are 
totally  different  from  yours,  whose  un- 
derstanding of  life  and  religion  may 
be  exactly  opposite  from  yours;  yet, 
having  no  prejudice  in  your  heart,  re- 
alizing the  oneness  of  the  perfect  law, 
94 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

you  will  give  to  every  one  his  liberty 
to  live  his  life  according  to  his  concep- 
tion of  how  to  live  it. 

His  tastes  may  lead  him  to  seek  hap- 
piness in  ways  that  are  not  your  ways. 
Yet  you,  knowing  that  in  fullness  of 
time  he  will  desire  the  highest  and  best, 
and  desiring,  will  seek,  can  wait  with 
patience  and  charity  for  his  turning. 

You  will  thus  learn  to  live,  not  only 
in  harmony  with  your  own  soul,  but  in 
harmony  with  all  souls. 

Your  discriminating  faculty  will  be- 
come keen,  clear,  penetrating,  yet  al- 
ways tempered  with  the  warm  atmos- 
phere of  your  loving  heart. 

The  true  life  can  only  be  based  on 
strict  justice. 

When  you  have  learned  to  be  just 

to  yourself,  you  will  be  just  to  your 

brother,  and  this  exact  justice  will  be 

allied  always  to  the  supreme  quality, — 

95 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

the  one  which  embraces  all,  namely: 
LOVE. 

In  this  continuous  practice  there  will 
be  increasing  readiness  to  adjust  your 
thought,  word  and  action  always  from 
the  spiritual  viewpoint.  With  prac- 
tice will  come  knowledge  of  how  to 
adjust  yourself  definitely  to  every  rela- 
tion in  the  natural  life. 

Not  only  this,  but  knowledge  of  how 
to  gain  a  new  influx  of  light,  life  and 
power  from  above. 

Judgment  is  the  fine  balance  between 
reason  and  intuition. 

Judgment  determines  the  use  of  in- 
telligence on  the  natural  and  the  spir- 
itual planes. 

Attaining  to  that  clear  inner  vision 
sometimes  called  spiritual  perception, 
and  exercising  the  same  intelligently 
and  conscientiously,  your  whole  char- 
acter will  be  permeated  with  the  sense 
96 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

of  equity,  which  is  the  spiritual  side  of 
justice. 

The  judgment  faculty  regenerated  is 
the  mediator  between  the  spiritual  and 
the  natural  life. 

With  the  many  and  varying  phases 
of  the  thought-realm,  referred  to  in 
the  last  lesson,  you  will  find  it  necessary 
to  have  a  keen  discrimination,  not  only 
of  what  to  accept  or  to  reject,  of  the 
many  thoughts  that  contact  your  mind, 
but  to  determine  the  kind  of  knowledge 
that  you  desire  to  draw  to  yourself. 

For  this  it  will  be  necessary  to  study 
carefully  the  positive  and  the  negative 
aspects  of  consciousness,  which  will  at- 
tract specific  knowledge  or  conditions. 

To  be  in  a  positive  mood  is  to  be  cen- 
tered with  the  will  turned  on  an  idea 
either  for  good  or  for  evil. 

To  be  in  a  passive  mood  is  to  be 
mentally  drifting,    allowing  the  will 

97 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

to  be  easily  influenced  or  swayed  by 
conflicting  conditions. 

One  may  be  positive  in  negative 
thoughts  or  qualities,  or,  negative  in 
good  thoughts  or  qualities. 

In  an  intense  positive  state  of  emo- 
tion, thought  is  powerful  and  attracts 
to  itself  that  which  is  of  like  quality. 
Beware  of  the  mood  which  makes  your 
thought  a  magnet  for  attracting  wrong 
conditions. 

For  example: 

To  yield  yourself  to  grief,  anger  or 
intensity  of  any  kind,  causes  your 
thought  to  draw  its  kind;  or,  possibly, 
to  submerge,  for  the  time,  your  whole 
consciousness  in  that  particular 
thought-current,  be  it  what  it  may. 

The  quality  of  thought  indicated  by 
anger,  grief,  etc.,  is  negative  in  the 
same  way  that  darkness  is  negative.  It 
has  no  reason  for  being,  except  the  ab- 
sence of  its  opposite. 

98 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

Avoid  negative  thoughts,  at  all  times, 
in  order  to  avoid  negative  conditions. 

In  this,  you  will  practically  realize 
the  benefit  of  happy,  hopeful,  joyous 
moods,  and  will  perceive  the  law,  as 
exemplified  in  these  illustrations. 

It  is  urged  that  you  practice  again 
and  again,  every  moment,  the  highest 
truth  that  you  know. 

Moment  by  moment,  day  by  day,  es- 
tablish the  habit  of  right  feeling  and 
right  thinking,  and  when  you  desire 
to  accomplish  any  specific  end,  delib- 
erately sit  down  and  think  earnestly, 
intensely,  upon  that  subject. 

If  it  be  knowledge  you  would  at- 
tain, formulate  your  desire  in  specific 
terms,  as  to  what  knowledge. 

For  instance: 

Suppose  you  desire  to  know  some- 
thing on  the  law  of  thought  transfer- 
ence.    Then  say  in  words  like  these: 
99 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

"/  desire  to  know  the  law  of  thought 
transference" 

Having  said  these  or  similar  words 
earnestly,  after  some  moments  affirm 
with  equal  earnestness:  "2  know  the 
law  governing  thought  transference" 

Then  wait.  Keep  the  mind  open, 
ready  for  the  answer. 

As  said  in  the  last  lesson,  everything 
depends  upon  the  stillness  of  the  mind; 
yet,  you  will  notice  that  the  necessity 
of  holding  the  mind  to  a  particular  is- 
sue is  emphasized. 

Practice  focussing  the  mind,  ten 
minutes  at  a  time,  gradually  increasing 
the  time  spent  until  you  are  able  to 
hold  your  attention  upon  the  specific 
thought  as  long  as  you  desire. 

It  may  prove  difficult  at  first,  but 
with  this,  as  other  things,  practice 
makes  for  perfection.  Practice  is  abso- 
lutely essential  to  proficiency. 

Meditation  is  a  total  abandonment 
100 


THE  ILLUMINgp ,&lEEi  V  ' -';,>>: 

of  all  thought?— a  complete  surrender 
to  the  subject  in  hand  and  a  passive 
expectancy  of  response. 

Having  given  yourself  earnestly  to 
either  exercise,  for  the  required  time, 
rise,  and  go  about  your  duties  with  the 
happy  assurance  that  what  you  ask  will 
be  answered,  when  you  are  ready  to 
receive  it. 

It  may  be  that  your  answer  will 
come  while  you  are  sitting.  If  not,  be 
assured  that  you  will  receive  it,  sooner 
or  later,  perhaps  some  moment  when 
you  least  expect  it. 

It  may  come  directly  into  your  con- 
sciousness as  a  thought. 

It  may  be  revealed  in  a  book  or  in 
conversation  with  a  friend,  or  in  a 
dream,  or  through  some  incident  in 
your  daily  routine  work. 

So  infinite  are  the  ways  and  means 
by  which  our  Father  reaches  His  chil- 
dren that  all  things  are  significant. 
101 


TPJE  ILJLUMINED  LIFE 

Only  the  listening  ear  catches  vibra- 
tions from  the  higher  realm. 

Only  the  faithful  heart  is  worthy  of 
revelations  from  the  Inmost. 

Only  the  'discreet  tongue  is  able  to 
utter  words  out  of  the  law.     ._ 

So,  it  behooves  you  to  keep  at  all 
times  responsive  to  the  Infinite  Intelli- 
gence from  which  you  may  receive  that 
which  will  upbuild  your  life  powers 
and  increase  your  life  knowledge. 

"Whatsoever  ye  sow,  that  shall  ye 
reap." 

Whatsoever  thoughts  you  think,  in 
due  time,  will  return  again,  laden  with 
the  good  or  ill  which  they  carried 
forth. 

You  will  see  that  you  are  now  living 
more  and  more  upon  the  subjective 
plane,  and,  as  you  continue  to  analyze, 
classify  and  understand  your  experi- 
ences, your  faculty  of  judgment  be- 
comes more  keenly  developed. 
102 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

With  fine  insight  and  the  delicate 
weighing  of  qualities  which  judgment 
makes  possible,  you  become  more  fully 
equipped  in  the  use  of  your  faculties. 

Forget  not,  that  it  is  in  proportion 
as  the  natural  self  is  made  subservient, 
that  you,  the  spirit,  are  more  suscep- 
tible to  the  Divine  Presence. 

It  is  this  reliance  upon  the  Divine 
which  makes  man  God's  greatest  in- 
strument, and  enables  him  to  be  or- 
dained for  the  great  ministry. 

It  is  the  destiny  of  man  the  creation, 
to  become  the  perfect  expression  of 
the  Creator,  in  whose  image  and  like- 
ness he  is  made. 

The  progress  of  attainment  is  shown 
in  the  degrees  expressed,  that  is,  in  the 
going  from  glory  to  glory.  By  the 
use  of  those  faculties  given  in  the  be- 
ginning of  physical  life,  there  is  at- 
tained an  understanding  of  variety, 
multiplicity,  and  excellence. 

103 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

Use  the  power  which  you  have  in 
order  to  attain  more. 

The  more  is  not  that  which  is  cre- 
ated, but  that  which  is  expressed  be- 
cause of  your  faithful  use  of  what  you 
have. 

If,  in  your  daily  life,  you  find  an 
increasing  consciousness  of  love,  it  is 
not  that  you  have  created  more  love, 
but  that  your  consciousness  has  ex- 
panded to  feel  and  to  express  more. 

You  will  thus  perceive  that  there 
is  a  great  difference  between  an  intel- 
lectual apprehension  and  a  soulful  re- 
alization. 

By  realization  is  meant  feeling. 

To  put  the  matter  simply:  pause  for 
a  moment  and  think  of  the  difference 
between  words  uttered  by  a  machine,  a 
mere  piece  of  mechanism,  and  by  a 
soul. 

Love,  life,  power — belong  to  the 
soul. 

104 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

The  fullest  expression  to  these  on 
every  plane  of  existence  is  necessary  to 
the  perfecting  of  every  character. 

Therefore,  seek  to  express  this  Di- 
vine Trinity  in  every  thought,  word 
and  act. 

When  you  wish  to  draw  from  the 
ocean  of  wisdom,  try  this,  go  out  into 
the  silence  of  the  night,  look  up  at  the 
shining  stars. 

Let  your  soul  be  filled  and  thrilled 
with  the  majesty  of  the  glorious  pag- 
eant. 

Circling  paths  of  the  planets  are 
indeed  symbols  of  the  Divine  thought 
which  transcends  and  includes  all 
smaller  circles  of  causation  in  the  in- 
finite sweep. 

Realize  this,  and  with  a  new,  a  di- 
vinely exalted  sense  of  the  All-Being, 
filled  with  the  reverential  awe  of  one 
to  whom  has  been  given  a  glimpse  of 
105 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

Infinity,  you  are  then  open  to  the  Vast, 
the  Eternal,  and  Boundless. 

Returning  in  this  mood  in  your 
dreamless  sleep  will  come  floating  in 
through  every  avenue  of  your  mind, 
streams  of  knowledge  concerning  deep 
and  hidden  things. 

You  may  not  know  or  be  conscious 
of  what  you  have  gained  when  you 
awake  from  your  beneficent  tutelage. 
Yet,  in  due  time,  you  will  speak  words 
of  wisdom  that  will  feed  many  souls. 

You  will  understand  a  higher  law 
and  in  that  understanding  will  be 
peace  and  power. 

More  and  more  will  you  learn  how 
to  ask  and  receive  illumination  from 
the  Highest. 

Ever  after  will  your  heart  long  for 
the  perfected  expression  of  the  ideal! 
Ever  after  will  your  inner  eye  be  en- 
tranced with  this  glimpse  of  The  Il- 
lumined Life! 

106 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

I  have  learned  in  this  chapter: 

I.  That   prejudice    is    one   of    the 
greatest  obstructions  to  spiritual  life. 

II.  The  power  of  Love. 

III.  The  value  of  good  judgment. 

IV.  How    to    attain    the    positive 
mood. 

V.  The  secret  of  concentration  and 
meditation. 

VI.  How    to     gain    wisdom     and 
power. 

VII.  What   is   meant   by   the    IL- 
LUMINED LIFE. 


107 


I  MUST  MAKE  EVERY  THOUGHT, 
WORD  AND  ACT  SHINE  WITH  THE 
LIGHT  OF  THE  SPIRIT,  TODAY. 


Arise,  shine;  for  thy  light   is  come,  and  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  is  risen  upon  thee. — Isaiah 

60 ',  /. 


109 


Chapter  VI 

THE  THREE-FOLD  PLANE  OF 
BEING 

The  end  of  progress  is  unity.  The  end  of 
degradation  is  division.  The  soul,  therefore,  which 
ascends,  tends  more  and  more  to  union  with  and 
absorption  with  the  Divine. 

HE  illumination  of  soul 
should  induce  felicitation 
of  mind  and  regeneration 
of  body. 

As  a  result  of  the  spiritual  viewpoint 
of  life,  the  soul  comes  into  new  con- 
sciousness of  her  grand  possibilities. 
Good  judgment  determines  the  power 
to  adjust  or  change  relations. 

With  spiritual  understanding,  with 
fine  judgment,  with  polarized  will  at 
one  with  the  Divine,  you  may  accom- 
plish what  you  will.  Glorious  achieve- 
ments reward  the  intelligent  direction 
in 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

of  psychic,  mental  and  physical  forces. 

Man  is  a  triune  being,  functioning 
on  the  three-fold  plane  of  activity 
called  respectively,  the  physical,  the 
mental  and  the  psychical. 

Each  phase  of  the  trinity  is  dual. 

The  ego  or  individual  is  commonly 
called  soul;  but  soul  is  the  lower  half 
or  earth  side  of  spirit,  and  is  the  inter- 
mediate between  spirit  and  mind. 

Spirit  is  the  divine,  the  perfect,  the 
individualized  off-spring  of  the  great 
Unmanifest — always  at  one  with  its 
Source. 

From  psyche,  the  Greek  word  for 
soul,  originates  the  word  psychical, 
meaning  that  which  relates  to  soul  and 
its  experiences  on  the  intermediate  or 
subjective  plane  between  mind  and 
Spirit. 

The  ego,  that  is  the  dual  individual, 
Spirit-soul,  may  be  compared  to  a 
globe,  the  upper  half  of  which,  being 

112 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

pure  God  essence,  is  ever  in  the  light. 

The  under  half,  is  of  the  same  es- 
sence, and  is  that  aspect  of  spirit  called 
soul  which  manifests  through  em- 
bodied matter  and  exists  in  the  shadow 
of  earthly  experiences. 

The  upper  half  is  spirit — that  which 
is  illumined  and  is  the  higher  self, 
the  child  of  God,  the  Christ,  or  Only 
Begotten,  dwelling  forever  in  the 
bosom  of  the  Father. 

The  under  half  is  the  dreaming  ego, 
the  unwakened  soul  in  its  ignorance, 
thinking  itself  separate  from  God,  and 
vaguely  groping  through  sense  ex- 
periences to  find  in  external  things 
that  peace  which  can  only  be  found  in 
conscious  union  with  God. 

Experiences  which  refer  to  the  spir- 
itual consciousness  are  properly  desig- 
nated as  spiritual,  meaning  thereby 
their  spiritual  quality. 

Experiences  which   relate  the  grop- 

113 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

ing,  matter-shadowed  soul  to  the  phen- 
omenal aspects  of  the  intermediate 
realm,  are  psychical. 

In  the  center  (the  invisible  realm) 
we  find  the  One,  Unity. 

On  the  circumference  (the  visible 
realm)  variety,  diversity. 

Spirit  and  soul  constitute  the  first 
duality  in  the  trinity  of  Being. 

Intuition  and  intellect  constitute  the 
second;  character  and  body,  the  third. 

The  intellect,  or  rational  faculty  of 
mind,  which  is  continually  active,  at- 
tains knowledge  through  reason.  The 
intuition,  is  the  receptive  faculty  and 
receives  knowledge  direct,  or  without 
conscious  reason. 

Experiences  which  awaken  aspira- 
tion or  revelation  concerning  truth  of 
Being  are  spiritual.  Those  which 
transcend  ordinary  mental  activities, 
and  include  phenomenal  sight,  hear- 
ing and  feeling  are  psychical. 

114 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

Experiences  which  relate  to  states  of 
mind  or  to  processes  of  thinking,  are 
mental. 

Experiences  which  relate  to  the  body 
or  physical  environment  are  on  the 
physical  plane. 

Relations  and  conditions  on  these 
planes  may  be  changed  by  the  attitude 
of  consciousness  toward  them.  Appre- 
hending the  significance  of  the  spiritual 
plane,  man  aspires  to  spiritual  knowl- 
edge and  relates  himself  to  spiritual 
Being,  realizing  that  it  is  from  the 
Spirit  that  all  light  proceeds. 

In  proportion  as  he  raises  his  con- 
sciousness to  the  spiritual  plane  will  be 
his  illumination  or  light  on  the  psy- 
chical plane. 

What  before  had  been  mysterious, 
vague,  shifting  and  unsatisfying  on 
that  plane  now  becomes  clear.  Under- 
standing and  controlling  his  physical 
nature,  he  may  learn  how  to  govern  and 

115 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

control  his  psychical  and  emotional 
nature. 

In  the  same  way  the  spiritual  light 
floods  his  soul  so  that  he  understands 
how  to  use  his  mental  faculties  and 
thus  control  his  relationships  on  that 
plane.  Similarly,  may  he  become  mas- 
ter of  the  conditions  on  the  physical. 

Simply  stated,  the  whole  matter  may 
be  summed  up  in  this: 

He  who  has  found  his  life  in  God 
controls  his  life  as  man. 

On  no  other  basis  can  there  be 
ground  for  saying  to  every  man,  wo- 
man or  child:  "Your  birthright  is 
dominion  over  yourself  and  all  things 
in  your  world." 

Think  for  a  moment  what  it  means 
to  be  able  to  say  to  the  humblest  and 
poorest  of  God's  children:  "You  may 
lift  up  your  head,  rejoice  and  be  glad, 
for  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  within  you, 
the  strength  of  the  Spirit  is  yours;  God 
116 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

is  no  respecter  of  persons.  To  you, 
therefore,  is  given  this  power,  this  per- 
fection, this  gracious  likeness." 

The  reason  for  this  lies  in  the  fact 
that  every  human  being  has  the  three- 
fold nature.  If  he  be  not  conscious  of 
the  higher,  it  may  be  your  privilege  to 
awaken  him  that  he  may  become  con- 
scious of  it. 

The  poor  brother  who  lies  degraded 
and  besotted  in  the  gutter  is  simply  he 
who  is  living  in  his  senses,  that  is,  on 
the  physical  plane. 

His  idea  of  happiness  is  in  the  grati- 
fication of  the  senses,  having  his 
thought,  feeling,  desire  and  attention 
wholly  absorbed  in  physical  sensations. 

He  ignores  or  knows  nothing  of  any 
higher  plane  or  any  better  life,  or  else 
he  has  no  strength  to  rise  to  it.  He  is 
the  prodigal  feeding  upon  husks. 

Can  you  not  go  to  him  with  love  in 
your  heart,  knowing  that  he  is  one  of 
117 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

the  little  ones,  and  say  such  words  as 
he  can  understand,  such  words  as 
would  convey  your  sympathy,  your 
charity,  your  belief  in  the  possibilities 
of  his  manhood? 

Say  to  him  directly:  "Come, 
brother,  rise.  Come  with  me,  I  will 
share  my  food  with  you,  I  will  find  a 
place  for  you  to  work.  I  will  be  a 
comrade  to  you.  I  will  help  you,  for 
I  believe  that  you  can  be  clean  in  your 
thought  and  your  body.  I  believe  that 
you  can  be  good,  that  you  can  control 
this  weakness.  Come,  let  us  work  to- 
gether for  a  better,  truer  manhood." 

Would  this  not  inspire  him  with 
hope,  with  confidence,  with  an  inspira- 
tion to  do  differently  and  impel  him 
to  say:  "I  will  arise  and  go  to  my 
Father!" 

This  would  mean  to  him  the  crea- 
tion of  perfect  harmony,  and  equilib- 
rium of  power  on  the  threefold  plane, 

118 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

and  with  this  established,  he  could  no 
longer  be  contented  to  lie  besotted  and 
useless. 

With  the  same  motive  and  feeling 
in  your  heart  as  that  with  which  you 
approached  the  other,  (remember,  you 
have  put  away  all  prejudices  and  con- 
demnation) can  you  not  go  to  the  poor, 
homeless  outcast,  yes  the  Magdalene, 
despised  of  all,  saying  to  her:  "Sister, 
turn  your  face  to  the  light,  forget  the 
past,  begin  now  to  live  the  pure,  holy 
life.  You  can.  It  is  not  too  late. 
Now  is  the  time.    Let  me  help  you." 

Could  you  not  persuade  her  to  make 
a  new  beginning  and  finally  lead  her 
upon  the  high  and  sunny  tablelands, 
where  grow  the  beautiful  blossoms  of 
her  spiritual  nature? 

To  the  abused,  neglected  child  can 
you  not  speak  words  of  encouragement 
and  comfort?  Can  you  not,  by  trusting 
his  honor,  teach  him  the  beauty  of 

119 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

truth  speaking,  of  happy,  sunny- 
hearted  obedience? 

It  is  this  love  given  in  childhood 
which  is  as  a  hidden  treasury  from 
which  in  mature  years  he  may  draw 
forth  memories  of  all  that  is  sweetest 
and  best. 

It  is  this  love,  also,  which  may  fur- 
nish the  strength  to  resist  a  temptation, 
the  faith  to  believe  in  the  face  of  ad- 
versity that  there  is  One  whose  love 
is  sure. 

Whenever  you  meet  a  child  on  the 
street,  stop  a  moment,  look  into  his 
eyes  and  give  him  the  best  in  your  soul. 
This  is  your  privilege,  your  precious 
opportunity. 

In  this  way  you  will  enter  upon  your 
divinely  appointed  mission  to  go  forth 
into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gos- 
pel, heal  the  broken-hearted,  preach 
deliverance  to  the  captives. 

In  this  way  you  will  redeem  those 

120 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

who  are  held  in  bondage  on  the  phy- 
sical, mental  or  psychic  plane  and  lift 
them  into  the  consciousness  of  the 
spirit,  where  there  is  no  bondage  and 
where  the  light  of  God's  Presence 
always  shines. 

There  have  been  given,  so  far,  illus- 
trations of  those  who  need  to  be  lifted 
from  the  physical  plane  of  conscious- 
ness. As  there  are  sufferers  on  the 
physical  plane  because  of  physical, 
mental  or  psychical  transgressions, 
there  are  also  sufferers  on  the  mental 
and  psychic  planes. 

The  transgressor  is  he  who  on  any 
plane  either  knowingly,  or,  unknow- 
ingly deviates  from  that  which  is  just 
and  right. 

The  transgressor  on  the  mental  plane 
is  he  who  dominates  or  subjugates  those 
of  weaker  will  than  himself  or  who 
willfully  uses  his  mental  faculties  for 
evil. 

121 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

On  this  plane  it  will  require  a 
greater  concentration  of  your  loving 
quality,  much  patience  and  persever- 
ance, in  order  to  penetrate  through  the 
self-will  of  such  an  one.  But  do  not 
despair  to  serve  him.  You  can  always 
think  of  him  as,  in  the  spirit,  suscepti- 
ble to  the  light,  and  some  day,  when 
you  are  least  aware,  the  love-flower 
may  blossom  in  his  heart. 

The  conditions  of  human  develop- 
ment are  so  varied  that  many  phases 
and  shadows  of  darkness  will  need  to  be 
penetrated  by  the  light  before  the  per- 
fect awakening. 

Yet  in  the  wonderful  provision  for 
the  development  of  every  soul,  our 
Father  has  many  devices  which  oper- 
ate ever  through  an  infinite  variety  of 
channels. 

Though  you  may  not  see  the  effect 
of  your  effort  in  individual  cases,  re- 
member this :  no  good  seed  is  ever  lost. 
122 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

Some  time,  somewhere  in  the  Great 
Forever,  the  light  ray  from  your  lov- 
ing spirit  will  be  felt,  and  thus  con- 
tribute to  the  perfection  of  those  souls 
to  whom  your  thought  and  service  have 
been  given. 

Living  every  moment  up  to  your 
highest  aspiration  and  according  to 
your  best  knowledge,  you  establish 
harmony  in  your  own  being  and  the 
right  relationship  toward  all  living 
beings. 

You  now  know  your  thought- 
quality  determines  the  experiences 
you  attract;  how,  by  serving  your 
brother,  you  will  stir  his  spir- 
itual consciousness  toward  awaken- 
ing, and  more  than  all  and  above 
all,  you  know  how,  in  this  ministry 
you  will  find  that  wonderful  near- 
ness to  God,  which  will  enable  you  to 
be  as  a  light  shining  in  darkness. 

In  time  you  will  realize  that  it  is 

123 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

not  you  who  work,  but  the  Father  who 
dwelleth  in  you. 

In  this  view  of  your  individual  soul, 
many  truths  will  be  revealed  to  your 
mind  that  unlock  the  mystery  of  char- 
acter and  temperament. 

You  will  see  the  impossibility  of  true 
judgment,  when  judging  only  from  the 
viewpoint  of  appearances ;  but,  the  ap- 
prehension of  the  Whole,  conveys  true 
understanding. 

Through  this,  you  may  have  all 
charity,  all  love  and  all  patience  for 
the  one  who,  no  matter  how  degraded, 
apparently  tends  ever  to  attain  perfec- 
tion. 

The  perfect  balance  between  these 
three  planes  of  being  makes  the  indi- 
vidual harmonious,  complete  in  each 
department  of  his  nature,  capable  of 
seeing,  feeling  and  acting  as  one  pos- 
sessed of  wisdom  and  power. 

Do  you  see  how  vast  the  difference 
124 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

in  quality  and  character  between  those 
whose  "I"  is  polarized  to  the  lowest 
or  to  the  highest  plane? 

Intensity  of  interest  determines  in- 
tensity of  attention  which  results  in  dis- 
tribution of  energy,  and  consequent 
activity.    This  is  polarization. 

To  be  polarized  on  the  physical 
plane  would  mean  an  active  practical 
sense-life,  with  duties,  interests,  social 
pleasures  and  all  that  pertains  to  the 
external  world. 

Polarization  on  the  mental  plane 
would  mean  intellectual  pursuits,  love 
of  scientific  knowledge  with  specific 
predilection  for  analyzing,  classifying 
and  arranging  facts  or  knowledge 
gained  through  deductive  reasoning. 

The  negative  side  of  this  plane 
would  create  in  the  disposition,  ag- 
gressive will,  love  of  argument,  domi- 
nant characteristics. 

125 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

The  positive  side  would  indicate 
clear,  logical  perception,  with  capacity 
for  management  of  details  in  affairs. 

Polarization  on  the  psychical  plane 
would  mean  a  preponderance  of  in- 
terest in  emotional  experiences. 

On  the  negative  side  this  would  pro- 
duce great  sensitiveness,  violent  and 
sudden  impulses  of  emotion,  great 
enthusiasm,  susceptibility  to  mental, 
psychical  and  physical  conditions. 

On  the  positive  side  it  would  indi- 
cate high  aspirations  and  inspirations, 
deep  sympathy,  clear  intuition,  pure 
devotional  fervor,  creative  gifts  and  the 
sensibility  that  both  quickly  feels  and 
is  also  capable  of  expressing  spiritual 
truths. 

You  can  see  at  once  that  the  char- 
acter is  poised  only  when  there  is  full 
use  and  perfect  control  of  every  faculty 
on  these  three  planes  of  being. 

126 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

The  reason  that  this  is  emphasized 
and  re-emphasized,  is  because  of  the 
necessity  of  cultivating  the  God-like 
love. 

This  love  is  the  light  of  the  spirit 
which  is  inherent  in  every  man.  When 
this  is  uncovered,  coming  as  it  does 
from  the  highest  realm  of  Being,  it 
sheds  its  radiance  upon  the  psychical, 
mental  and  physical  planes,  until  the 
whole  man  is  "born  again"  and  be- 
comes a  "new  creature." 

He  who  is  illumined  by  love's  light 
in  his  emotional  nature  is  inspired  by 
the  true  feeling  which  will  find  ex- 
pression in  true  thought  and  true 
action. 

By  true,  is  meant  that  which  is  true 
of  the  spirit,  hence  you  may  trace  the 
direct  descent  of  what,  in  spirit, 
is  love;  in  the  soul,  sympathy;  in  the 
mind,  charity;  in  the  life,  Brother- 
hood. 

127 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

This  is  the  grand  consummation  to- 
wards which  humanity  everywhere  is 
hastening. 

Since  the  destiny  of  every  soul  is  to 
express  the  heavenly  through  the 
earthly,  it  is  essential  that  the  heavenly, 
and  every  step  of  the  process  from  the 
within  to  the  without,  should  be 
known,  understood  and  practiced. 

With  this  key,  seek  to  find  wherein 
you  lack  balance. 

If  temperamentally  you  are  inclined 
to  polarization  on  the  physical  plane, 
counteract  that  tendency  by  withdraw- 
ing your  interest  somewhat  from  the 
purely  physical,  through  your  change 
of  view  concerning  it.  This  will  en- 
large your  conception  of  life  and  of 
hidden  things  which  lie  back  of  human 
experience  on  every  plane. 

Understanding  that  the  outer  is  the 

128 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

clothing  of  the  inner  it  will    not    be 
long  before  you  may  look 


Into  great  Nature's  open  eye 
To  see  within  it  trembling  lie 
The  portrait  of  the  Deity 


If  temperamentally  you  are  inclined 
to  polarize  on  the  mental  plane,  modify 
your  love  of  dominance  and  aggressive 
assertion,  by  constantly  realizing  that 
however  strong  your  reason  for  expla- 
nation or  insistent  direction,  there  are 
other  ways  of  gaining  knowledge  and 
other  ways  of  attaining  the  end  than 
those  which  so  strongly  appeal  to  you. 
In  other  words,  cultivate  charity  for 
others'  opinions  and  earnestly  practice 
in  every  association  both  sympathy  and 
forbearance. 

If  you  find  yourself  temperament- 
ally polarized  on  the  psychical  plane, 
inclined  to  feel  hurt  because  some  one 
has  received  more  attention  than  your- 
self, or  to  yield  to  such  emotions  as 

129 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

fear,  anger,  jealousy,  et  cetera,  open 
yourself  to  the  reception  of  the  warm- 
ing, spiritual  quality  of  that  love 
which  thinketh  no  evil,  which  hopeth 
all  things,  endureth  all  things,  and 
beareth  all  things. 

This  perfect  adjustment  within 
yourself,  this  constant  living  in  the 
love  atmosphere  will  teach  you  exactly 
how  to  adjust  yourself  to  your  environ- 
ments and  the  people  with  whom  you 
are  associated. 

It  may  be  that  even  in  your  family 
relations  there  are  misunderstandings 
and  unpleasantness. 

If  so,  here  lies  your  great  opportu- 
nity. 

First  of  all,  realize  that  it  is  not  in 
the  motives,  but  in  the  misapprehen- 
sions that  inharmony  originates.  It  is 
not  intentional,  but  temperamental 
antagonism  that  must  be  overcome. 

If  your  light  has  been  first  uncov- 
130 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

ered,  it  remains  for  you  to  hold  it  so 
steadily,  that  not  only  may  you  be 
illumined  by  its  radiance,  but  all 
those  about  you. 

If  you  continually  seek  to  live  on  the 
highest  plane,  consciously  receiving 
and  consciously  using  the  divine  po- 
tency, the  influence  even  from  your 
silent  presence  will  be  as  oil  upon 
troubled  waters.  When  you  speak,  the 
very  tone  of  your  voice  will  convey 
the  "soft  answer  that  turneth  away 
wrath." 

One  thing  is  most.essential  in  family 
relationships,  yes,  in  all  relationships, 
and  that  is  the  recognition  that  every 
soul  is  working  out  its  own  destiny, 
and  must  be  left  free  to  develop  its 
individuality  without  coercion,  con- 
demnation or  undue  influence. 

Whatever  you  can  say  or  do  in  a  lov- 
ing spirit  that  will  be  accepted,  that 

131 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

say  or  do.  Having  done  your  best  to 
help  or  guide,  leave  the  results. 

In  all  your  thoughts  and  words  let 
the  light  shine. 

Murmur  at  nothing.  Have  no  re- 
grets, no  grief,  even  though  your  coun- 
sel, your  proffered  help  be  rejected 
with  scorn. 

You  may  fail  hundreds  of  times  but 
keep  on  trying,  believing  and  trusting 
that  God  is  your  Helper  and  will 
bring  you  to  victory. 

In  your  attitude  toward  even  the 
nearest  and  dearest,  remember  they 
do  not  belong  to  you;  they  belong  to 
God.  In  the  larger  sense  they  are 
not  your  sons  and  daughters,  yoiur 
father,  mother,  husband  or  wife.  They 
are  your  brothers  and  sisters. 

They  are  souls  traveling  on  the  same 
road  to  the  same  goal. 

If  they  see  differently  from  you  it  is 

132 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

simply  because  they  are  not  in  the  same 
stage  of  development. 

They  cannot  see  as  you  see  because 
they  have  not  your  viewpoint.  Let  them 
alone,  love  them,  speak  or  be  silent  as 
seems  best,  but  know  that  in  the  full- 
ness of  time  their  light  will  shine  forth 
and  they,  too,  will  be  as  those  resur- 
rected into  new  light. 

/  have  learned  in  this  chapter: 

I.  The  reward  of  intelligent  con- 
trol and  the  direction  of  individual 
forces. 

II.  That  I  must  understand  the  dif- 
ferent phases  of  my  being  and  person- 
ality in  order  to  better  those  phases 
and  round  out  my  character. 

III.  That  the  practice  of  charity  is 
real  brotherhood. 

IV.  The  quality  and  classification 
of  thought. 

V.  That  I  must  understand  myself 
in  order  to  understand  others. 

133 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

VI.  That  all  souls  are  on  the  way  to 
perfection. 

VII.  That  by  living  my  highest  I 
am  helping  all  others  to  live  their 
highest. 


134 


WILL  WATCH  CAREFULLY  TODAY, 
THAT  LOVE,  NOT  SELFISHNESS, 
MAY  BE  THE  MOTIVE  OF  EVERY 
ACTION,  THE  INTERPRETER  OF 
EVERY  EXPERIENCE. 


If  any  man  will  do  His  will,  he  shall  know  of 
the  doctrine,  whether  it  be  of  God,  or  whether 
I  speak  of  myself. — John  7,  17 \ 


13S 


Chapter  VII 

RULES    FOR    THE    PRACTICE 
OF  LIFE  PRINCIPLES 

It  is  better  to  be  master  of  self  and  direct  the 
soul  than  to  be  master  of  the  universe. 

O  make  the  matter  more 
clearly  understood  con- 
cerning the  best  means  for 
maintaining  harmony  and 
developing  the  faculties  in  this  three- 
fold nature,  certain  special  instruc- 
tions are  here  given  concerning  your 
physical,  mental  and  psychical  being. 
The  physical  is  an  instrument  used 
by  the  soul  and  mind  for  the  expres- 
sion of  the  life  of  the  individual. 

As  an  instrument  the  body  should 

be  kept  in  good  order.     Every  organ 

having  its    proper    function,   if  in  a 

healthy  state,  makes  it  possible  for  all 

137 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

work  to  be  done  in  the  most  perfect 
manner. 

Clean,  wholesome  conditions  as  to 
environment,  and  simple  nutritious 
food,  (such  as  fruits,  nuts,  salads,  veg- 
etables) are  necessary. 

Meals  should  be  taken  regularly 
and  eaten  in  the  most  happy  and  har- 
monious state  of  mind.  Fresh  air, 
bathing  and  plenty  of  exercise  should 
be  the  programme  for  every  day. 

You  will  find  that  in  carrying  out 
this  mode  of  life,  it  is  of  the  greatest 
advantage  to  do  all  things  at  regular 
times  and  with  unrelenting  faithful- 
ness. 

Upon  your  systematic  arrangement 
of  time  much  depends. 

The  body,  as  well  as  the  mind,  is 
subject  to  habits.  It  is  therefore  im- 
portant that  you  establish  the  right 
habits,  not  only  because  it  will  be 
easier,  but  because  it   will  be  of  the 

138 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

greatest  importance  in  your  character 
building. 

Here  is  a  special  physical  exercise 
which  takes  but  a  few  moments  of  time 
and  yet  energizes  and  invigorates  the 
whole  body. 

After  your  bath  and  before  fully 
clothed  in  the  morning,  see  that  you 
have  a  free  circulation  of  air  in  your 
room.  Stand  erect.  Then,  take  seven 
deep  breaths.  With  each  inhalation 
mentally  repeat  the  word :  "life" ;  with 
each  exhalation,  the  word:  "health." 
Then  inhaling  slowly,  stretch  out  to  the 
right  and  tense  the  muscles  of  the  right 
arm,  holding  the  fingers  stiff  and 
stretching  as  far  as  possible. 

Do  this  three  times. 

Then,  repeat  the  exercise  by  stretch- 
ing the  arm  in  front,  tensing  the  mus- 
cles as  before.  Tense  and  stretch  the 
head,  neck;  then,  left  arm,  then  right 
and  left  limbs. 

139 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

After  each  period  of  intensity,  with- 
drawing all  energy  and  leaving  each 
organ  perfectly  relaxed,  finally  tense 
the  whole  body  and  then  relax,  the 
period  between  tensing  and  relaxing 
being  about  half  a  minute. 

The  happy  state  of  mind  in  which 
these  exercises  are  practiced  and  the 
methodical  habits  of  daily  living  will 
tend  to  insure  a  sound,  healthy  body. 

The  mental  attitude  toward  the  body 
and  toward  all  material  conditions, 
such  as  the  weather,  the  kind  of  clothes, 
the  temperature,  should  be  entirely 
free  from  irritation  or  prejudice. 

Harmony  is  your  keynote.  Your 
thought  and  appearance  should  radiate 
harmony. 

Having  this  understanding  of  the 
necessity  of  giving  due  attention  and 
proper  care  to  the  body,  you  are  now 
ready  to  proceed  consciously  in  the  de- 
velopment of  your  mental  powers. 

140 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

To  this  end  examine  your  habits  of 
thought.  See  wherein  you  are  lack- 
ing. If  you  find  that  you  are  unpunc- 
tual,  careless  and  superficial,  find  the 
remedy,  by  a  persistent  practice  of  the 
opposite. 

See  that  you  are  careful,  exact  and 
accurate  in  what  you  think,  in  order 
that  you  may  be  exact,  careful  and  ac- 
curate in  what  you  say. 

If  you  lack  continuity  in  your  mental 
activities,  take  this  matter  and  work 
with  it  until  corrected.  On  this  point 
you  will  find  the  practice  of  concentra- 
tion very  helpful,  and  indeed  neces- 
sary, as  explained  before. 

Concentration  is  the  ability  to  focus 
attention  upon  a  definite  idea  or  word. 

In  order  to  cultivate  concentration, 
make  it  a  rule  to  practice  five  minutes 
at  a  time  at  stated  intervals;  that  is, 
to  think  upon  one  subject  during  that 
five  minutes. 

141 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

At  first  you  may  find  all  sorts  of 
thoughts  coming  into  your  mind  and 
you  will  say  it  is  impossible  to  keep 
the  attention  without  interruption  or 
diffusion.  But  five  minutes  at  a  time, 
four  times  a  day,  even  at  the  end  of 
one  week  will  bring  great  results. 

Then  increase  the  time  to  ten  min- 
utes and  so  on. 

By  and  by  you  will  discover,  not 
only  the  ability  to  give  fixed  attention 
to  any  subject,  but  an  increased  under- 
standing and  strength  of  will  in  the 
accomplishment  of  any  purpose. 

Then  look  to  your  habit  of  accuracy 
in  speech. 

See  whether  you  tell  things  exactly 
as  they  are  and  whether  you  keep  your 
thought  true  to  your  own  standard  of 
justice. 

For  example,  when  you  agree  to 
keep  an  appointment  at  a  certain  time, 
do  not  allow  yourself  to  think  that  a 

142 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

few  moments  more  or  less  will  make 
no  difference. 

Compel  yourself  to  be  just  by  com- 
pelling your  mind  to  be  relentless  in 
the  fulfillment  of  its  promises.  There 
may  be  times,  of  course,  when  it  is 
impossible  for  you  to  keep  your  ap- 
pointment on  the  minute;  neverthe- 
less, you  should  see  no  obstacle  to  the 
fulfillment  of  your  promise.  You 
should  see  yourself  at  that  place  at 
the  appointed  time.  The  effort  to  get 
there  will  then  take  care  of  itself. 

Thus  you  will  be  building  a  founda- 
tion for  character  by  cultivating  and 
developing  the  right  mental  fibre,  the 
right  moral  tone. 

The  lower  self  is  like  a  child  which 
needs  training  and  development.  Un- 
til the  spiritual  man  is  awakened  the 
natural  man  expresses  thoughts  and 
feelings  which  originate  in  the  lower 
self. 

143 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

Habits  of  thought,  therefore,  which 
have  been  childish,  weak  and  char- 
acterless must  be  changed.  See  that 
you  use  your  power  of  thinking  to 
good  purposes  by  recognizing  that 
what  is  worth  thinking  at  all  is  worth 
thinking  well. 

Adapting  the  words  of  our  wise 
Emerson,  it  may  be  said — using  char- 
acter, in  place  of  "A  day"— CHAR- 
ACTER "is  a  more  magnificent  cloth 
than  any  muslin,  the  mechanism  that 
makes  it  is  infinitely  cunninger  and 
you  shall  not  conceal  the  sleezy,  fraud- 
ulent, rotten  thoughts  you  have  slipped 
into  the  piece  nor  fear  that  any  honest 
thread  or  straighter  steel  or  more  in- 
flexible shaft  will  not  testify  in  the 
web." 

By  this  you  will  understand,  that 
character  is  made  by  the  thoughts  you 
think. 

144 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

Not  less  necessary  than  accuracy  is 
sincerity. 

He  who  sincerely,  honestly  desires 
to  build  his  house  made  without  hands 
must  see  to  it  always  that  his  motive 
for  any  act  is  sincere;  that  every 
thought  and  every  word  given  to  him- 
self or  others  comes  straight  from  the 
depths  of  his  sincere  earnest  soul. 

This  it  is  which  will  make  him  un- 
compromisingly just,  true  in  every  re- 
lation, and  the  practical  outcome  will 
be  that,  as  he  becomes  just,  in  consid- 
eration of  that  which  is  due  to  all  men, 
he  will  neither  give  nor  yet  receive 
unjustly. 

To  illustrate: 

In  your  careless,  thoughtless,  na- 
tural life,  you  may  not  have  scrupled 
to  take  time  from  those  with  whom  it 
was  precious,  to  converse  and  dally 
over  inconsequential  matters.  Perhaps, 
too,  you  did  not  scruple  to  take  from 
145 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

yourself  valuable  moments  for  fruitless 
pleasure  or  sluggish  dreams.  Or  when 
you  were  asked  to  give  something  to 
the  one  who  seemed  needy,  or,  who 
perhaps  unjustly  demanded  of  you 
gifts  of  money  or  time,  you  would 
yield  to  the  demand  without  thought 
as  to  whether  it  was  just  to  that  one 
or  yourself. 

You  would  act  in  the  easiest  way, 
regardless  of  whether  it  was  wisest. 

Do  you  see  how  the  element  of  jus- 
tice enters  into  every  phase  of  life? 

As  you  think  upon  the  matter  you 
may  see  that  to  give  money,  time  or 
favor  may  be  the  grossest  injustice  to 
the  supplicant. 

Do  you  ask  why? 

Because  you  may  be  robbing  him  of 
an  opportunity  for  developing  his  self- 
reliance.  You  allow  him  to  depend 
upon  you  to  help  him  out  of  his  diffi- 
146 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

culties,  when  possibly  it  would  be  the 
most  valuable  lesson  for  him  to  help 
himself. 

This  is  merely  a  hint  to  show  you  the 
necessity  of  considering  wisely  and 
well  the  vast  influence  exerted  by  your 
thoughts  upon  your  own  character 
and  also  upon  the  characters  of  your 
brothers. 

There  may  be  times,  as  you  know, 
when  the  time,  money  or  favor  lov- 
ingly given,  will  be  the  greatest  possi- 
ble boon,  and  would  assist  a  depressed 
soul  more  than  anything  else  you 
might  do. 

Of  this,  you  must  judge  according  to 
circumstances.  Only  think  and  act 
always  as  one  who  knows,  as  one  who 
does  what  he  does,  because  he  knows. 

To  be  master  of  your  thoughts,  and 

that  you  may  control  impulses,  calmly 

reason  within  yourself  over  the  effect 

of  every  thought  and  action,  failing 

147 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

not  to  remember  "that  as  a  man 
thinketh  in  his  heart  so  is  he." 

By  continuous  practice  in  overcom- 
ing wrong  habits  of  thinking,  you  re- 
move all  obstructions  from  the  mind. 
It  becomes  filled  with  bright,  beauti- 
ful and  happy  thoughts  which  allay 
the  emotions  of  fear,  anxiety,  dis- 
couragement and  all  vicious,  mental 
conditions;  thus,  is  your  own  mind  co- 
operator  with  your  better  nature,  your 
spiritual  being. 

The  soul,  as  the  earth  side  of  spirit, 
is  the  realm  of  emotion.  The  higher, 
or  spiritual  side,  is  that  from  which 
comes  the  warm  bright  radiance  of  the 
Spirit.    This  is  love  and  wisdom. 

All  emotions,  when  illuminated  and 
permeated  by  love's  radiance  become 
charged  with  the  gracious  qualities  of 
the  spirit. 

This  psychical  being  when  not  re- 
inforced   and    sustained    by   spiritual 

148 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

judgment  is  sensitive  to  negative  earth 
conditions,  and  often  takes  on  feelings 
that  depress  and  terrify. 

One  thus  sensitive,  through  his 
psychical  or  emotional  nature,  may 
see,  hear  and  realize  much  inharmony 
and  discord  that  originate  and  predom- 
inate on  the  psychic  plane.  It  is  here 
that  he  may  see  strange  sights  and  come 
in  contact  with  strange  conditions. 

The  senses  on  the  psychic  plane 
called  clairvoyance  and  clairaudience 
may  be  developed  and  if  he  be  not  mas- 
ter through  his  knowledge  of  how  to 
deal  with  these  conditions,  he  may  be- 
come, not  only  influenced,  but  enslaved 
by  them. 

The  one  great  and  unfailing  method 
of  throwing  off  negative  conditions,  is 
to  know  your  true  being  as  spirit  which 
is  always  free. 

The  secret  of  mental  inharmony, 
irritability  and  violent  changes  of 
149 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

mood  often  lies  in  the  fact  that  these 
influences  from  the*  psychical  realm 
befog  the  judgment  and  pervert  the 
emotions  of  the  one  who  is  not  yet 
spiritually  awakened. 

From  this  source,  also,  disturbing 
dreams,  visions,  the  seeing  of  ghosts, 
so-called,  and  all  that  goes  under  the 
name  of  psychic  phenomena,  originate. 

In  order  to  strengthen  and  polarize 
the  mind  to  the  truth  which  makes 
free,  it  is  necessary  for  one  thus  sen- 
sitive to  make  strong  declarations  that 
will  disconnect  the  thought  wires  from 
all  negative  influences. 

For  such  purpose  it  is  suggested  that 
every  morning  before  leaving  your 
room  and  every  night  before  retiring, 
you  stand  erect,  and,  after  drawing 
several  deep  breaths,  realizing  the  om- 
nipotent Life  within,  utter  aloud  these 
words : 

"I,  the  spirit,  am  strong,  free  and 

150 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

radiant.  I  am  polarized  to  the  high- 
est. I  am  not  susceptible  to  any  in- 
fluence or  negative  thought  from  any 
source,  whatever.  I  am  free  from  all 
negative  magnetic,  mental  or  psychical 
attraction.  I  am  individualized — be- 
cause, I  am  conscious  of  the  light  of  the 
Spirit.  I  reverently  acknowledge  that 
light  has  power  over  all  darkness  and 
no  thought  or  word  or  emotion  from 
any  source  can  extinguish  my  light  or 
make  me  less  than  master  in  my  world. 
I  exalt  and  glorify  the  heavenly  light, 
which  is  as  a  lamp  unto  my  feet  and  a 
light  unto  my  path.  In  spirit  I  am 
Light.  I  will  arise  and  shine  with  the 
glory  of  my  Father" 

By  thus  training  the  mind,  soul  and 
body,  moment  by  moment,  day  by  day, 
you  will  become  a  fitting  instrument 
for  the  expression  of  the  all  glorious 
life,  and  the  power  of  Infinite  Love. 

I  have  learned  in  this  chapter: 
151 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

I.  That  in  order  to  give  the  body 
proper  care,  the  right  thinking  and 
feeling  must  be  established  by  right 
habits. 

II.  That  definite  times  for  practice 
of  definite  exercises  are  necessary  to 
secure  best  results. 

III.  That  to  think  of  the  lower  self 
as  a  child  that  needs  training  is  to  have 
more  patience,  charity  and  wisdom  in 
dealing  with  it  and  with  others. 

IV.  The  value  of  accuracy  and  sin- 
cerity. 

V.  Happy  thoughts  like  sunshine 
clear  away  all  disturbances. 

VI.  That  to  throw  off  negative  con- 
ditions I  must  realize  my  true  being. 

VII.  That  mind,  soul  and  body  must 
work  in  harmony  in  order  to  attain  the 
goal. 


152 


TO  BE  WORTHY  OF  EVERY  TRUST, 
TO  BE  KIND,  TO  BE  TRUE,  TO  BE 
JUST,  TO  BE  CHEERFUL  AND  PA- 
TIENT, IS  MY  EARNEST  AIM  FOR 
TODAY. 


Ye  have  not  chosen  me,  but  I  have  chosen  you, 
and  ordained  you,  that  ye  should  go  and 
bring  forth  much  fruit,  and  that  your  fruit 
should  remain;  that  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in 
my  name,  He  may  give  it  you. — John  i$%  16. 


153 


Chapter  VIII 

THE    SECRET    OF   APPROPRI- 
ATION 

Call  unto  me  and  I  will  answer  thee  and  show 
thee  great  and  mighty  things  which  thou  knowest 
not. — Jeremiah. 

When  thou  passeth  through  the  waters  I  will  be 
with  thee,  and  through  the  rivers  they  shall  not  over- 
flow thee;  when  thou  walkest  through  the  fire,  thou 
shalt  not  be  burned;  neither  shall  the  flame  kindle 
upon  thee.    For  I  am  the  Lord,  thy  God. — Isaiah. 


l|il1LTT?  destiny  of  life  is  expres- 
I    sion. 
ji       All  living    things  must 
'11    add  to  the  sum  total  of  ex- 
pression in  the  universal  whole.     Not 
otherwise  can  their  destiny  be  fulfilled. 
The  beauty,  form  and  fragrance  of 
the  rose,  is  the  rose  life  expressed.    The 
stem,  leaf,  blossom  and  fruit  are  neces- 
sary to  the  completion  of  the  plant  life. 
Thus  all  nature  is,  in  the  combination 
155 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

of  form,  color,  beauty,  substance,  the 
expression  in  diversity  of  the  unseen 
unity. 

To  man  who  is  not  only  the  epitome 
of  nature,  but  of  the  Creative  Life  it- 
self, has  been  given  not  only  the  power 
of  unconscious  expression  in  form  and 
mental  attributes,  but  manifold  possi- 
bilities of  expression,  of  which  he  has 
scarcely  dreamed. 

This  is  the  deep  underlying  secret  of 
his  continuous  and  never  ceasing  desire 
to  know  in  order  that  he  may  do. 

In  doing  lies  fulfillment  of  Being. 

Equipped  with  a  healthy  body, 
clear,  clean  mind  and  finely  poised  psy- 
chical nature  you  may  be  the  channel, 
through  which  is  transmitted  the  great 
Light. 

Take  your    stand,    then,    from  the 
moment  you  realize  the     significance 
of  your  wonderful  possibilities,  upon 
156 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

the  ground  that  henceforth  you  stand 
as  one  absolutely  untrammeled. 

You  have  ascended  from  the  earth  to 
the  heaven. 

You  have  ascended  from  the  con- 
sciousness of  mere  body  or  mind,  to 
the  consciousness  of  Spirit,  your  true 
Being. 

To  retain  this  consciousness,  to  walk 
continually  upon  the  tablelands  and 
high  plateaus  of  the  spiritual  life,  it  is 
needful  that  you  not  only  discipline 
the  mind  into  right  habits  of  thoughts, 
but  that  you  learn  to  enter  into  a  state 
of  such  deep  stillness  that  all  thoughts 
cease. 

Can  you  imagine  such  stillness 
wherein  you  know  but  do  not  think? 

This  is  the  state  in  which  you  receive 

conscious  revelation.    It  is  beyond  the 

functioning  plane  of  mind,  or  soul.    It 

is  the  great  deep  of  the  Spirit,  the  se- 

157 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

cret  place  where  you  face  the  Eternal, 
and  know  the  infinity  of  Life. 

Unlike  the  unconscious  teaching  that 
comes  in  your  dreamless  sleep,  this 
fills  your  consciousness,  yet  stirs  not 
your  mind.  Here,  you  may  ask  and 
instantly  receive  the  answer,  yet  your 
questioning  will  not  be  put  as  a  form 
of  thought,  but  be  more  like  the  con- 
scious reception  of  a  supply,  where  be- 
fore there  had  been  a  lack. 

You  will  by  this  time  have  become 
so  earnest  in  your  desire  to  live  the 
spiritual  life,  that  gladly  will  you  give 
your  time  in  pursuit  of  the  rich  treas- 
ures to  be  found  in  the  Spirit. 

Here  is  an  outline  of  certain  methods 
of  procedure  by  which  you  may  cul- 
tivate the  power  to  go  into  this  stillness 
at  will. 

In  your  mental  discipline  you  were 
taught  to  use  words  with  the  design 
of  developing  your  powers  and  also 

158 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

the  ability  to  "maintain  passivity.  This 
is  good  practice  on  the  mental  plane, 
and  is  necessary  in  order  to  cultivate 
the  right  mental  habits. 

Now,  however,  you  are  to  practice 
a  state  of  thoughtlessness. 

For  that  purpose  prepare  a  room  to 
which  no  person  but  yourself  has  ac- 
cess. It  may  be  a  small  room,  if  no 
other  is  available ;  or,  it  may  be  a  por- 
tion of  your  chamber  set  apart  for  this 
special  purpose. 

Place  your  chair,  which  should  be 
of  such  height  that  your  feet  will  rest 
squarely  on  the  floor,  so  that  when  sit- 
ting you  will  face  the  east.  Let  the 
light  in  this  place  be  softened  to  a 
mellow  twilight.  Let  there  be  an  abun- 
dance of  fresh  air.  Have  a  table,  a 
few  spiritual  books,  one  or  two  inspir- 
ing pictures,  but  nothing  else  in  the 
room. 

Select  an  hour — preferably  in  the 
159 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

early  morning — when  you  can  seek  se- 
clusion in  this  quiet  place. 

After  a  few  earnest  reverential 
words,  audible  or  inaudible,  voice 
your  yearning  desire  for  spiritual  con- 
sciousness. Take  a  few  long-drawn 
electrifying  breaths.  Sit  erect  in  the 
chair,  and  wait,  placid,  motionless, 
thought-less. 

Many  thoughts  may  come  without 
seeking.  Pay  no  attention  to  them. 
Make  no  mental  effort.  You  are  now 
like  the  diver  in  the  sea,  going  down, 
down,  down,  into  the  still  place  where 
no  storm  can  stir  the  waters. 

Remember  to  select  an  hour  as  not 
only  a  definite  time  when  you  enter  the 
room,  but  a  definite  time  in  which 
you  can  remain  in  the  room. 

Then,  without  varying  one  moment, 
without  missing  one  day,  pursue  this 
practice  for  at  least  four  weeks   (or, 
better  still,  indefinitely). 
160 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

In  due  time  you  will  find  the  still- 
ness. Many  times  it  will  seem  as 
though  you  are  a  passive  spectator  to 
wonderful  scenes  spread  out  before 
you,  scenes  symbolic  of  mighty  and 
hitherto,  to  you  at  least,  undreamed-of 
truths. 

Such  visions  as  came  to  prophets  and 
seers  of  old,  may  be  yours. 

Revelations  of  law,  the  gifts  of  pro- 
phecy, the  mighty  power  of  decree — 
all  this  and  more  may  be  unfolded  to 
your  consciousness  in  these  silences,  yet 
whatever  comes  let  it  be  incidental. 

Do  not  allow  the  most  alluring  vis- 
ion to  lead  you  aside  from  your  pur- 
pose— that  of  being  thoughtless. 

Relax  not  in  your  practice  of  this 
stillness.  It  will  teach  you  of  the 
soundless  and  the  voiceless,  the  all- 
thinking,  all-knowing  One. 

The  soul  learns  truth,  as  the  child 

161 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

learns  environment,  first  by  perception 
and  absorption,  then  by  experience. 

Whatever  you  learn  in  the  stillness 
will  be  operative  in  your  life,  both  in- 
teriorly and  exteriorly. 

If  for  one  moment  you  have  experi- 
enced this  wonderful  all-knowing  state, 
you  will  have  passed  as  definitely  into 
the  higher  stage  of  Being,  as  the  bird 
which  has  come  forth  from  out  of  the 
shell.  Never  again  will  you  be  as  be- 
fore, the  unknowing  one. 

This  is  the  secret  of  gaining  spiritual 
knowledge,  of  healing,  of  inspiration. 
It  remains  for  you  to  practice  until  you 
know  how  to  "ask  what  ye  will." 

You  will  find  as  time  goes  on  that 
you  are  beginning  to  use  every  faculty 
on  its  own  plane,  and  at  any  time  you 
choose. 

By  faithfully  observing  these  instruc- 
tions as  weeks  and  months  pass,  you 

162 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

will  continue  to  unfold  new  powers  of 
being. 

You  reach  one  expression  only  to 
make  possible  another  and  another 
upon  every  plane.  With  no  limit  to 
your  possibility  of  appropriating  from 
the  Divine  Source — what  may  you  not 
express  in  your  individuality? 

The  secret  of  appropriation  and  ex- 
pansion lies  in  the  use,  the  free  giving 
forth  of  what  you  are,  and  what  you 
have. 

If  it  is  more  faith  which  requires  an 
abandonment  to  our  Father,  the  un- 
seen, yet  ever-present  One,  express  or 
give  forth  to  the  utmost  that  which  you 
have. 

If  it  is  more  life,  wisdom,  power, 
again  express  what  you  have,  always 
with  a  joyous  expectancy  of  more  in 
the  moment  of  need. 

Coming  to  the  practical  and  com- 
monplace, suppose  you  have  small  fi- 

163 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

nancial  means,  perhaps  not  enough 
with  which  to  purchase  a  day's  supply 
of  food. 

What  do  you  do? 

Sit  down  and  cry  and  bemoan  your 
fate  and  fear  that  dire  poverty  will 
overtake  you,  that  you  will  be  thrown 
out  of  your  house,  that  you  will  be  left 
to  starve  in  the  streets? 

This  would  reveal  your  pitiful  lack 
of  trust  in  God. 

Say,  instead,  such  words  as  these: 

"I  have  faith  to  believe,  that  if  I  do 
my  best  with  mind  and  body,  before 
tomorrow  comes,  tomorrow's  supply 
will  be  here.  With  mind,  I  look  to 
God  who  is  the  giver  of  all  things. 
With  my  hands  I  will  do  whatever  I 
find  to  do.  I  will  see  in  my  mind's  eye 
an  abundance  of  food,  money  for  every 
need.  I  refuse  to  see  any  lack,  for 
I  live  with  my  Father,  and  in  His 
Kingdom  is  an  abundance  of  all  things. 

164 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

I  thank  Thee,  Father,  that  Thy  abun- 
dance is  mine;  that  as  I  live  in  Thee, 
I  have  no  lack." 

On  first  thought  you  may  reply: 

"On  what  ground  can  I  speak  thus?" 

On  the  ground  that  as  spirit  you 
know  the  spiritual  truth;  that,  look- 
ing to  God,  you  can  see  no  lack. 

If  you  refuse  to  judge  according  to 
appearances,  in  time  you  become  con- 
scious of  perfect  supply,  and  of  your 
power  of  appropriation. 

This  is  what  Jesus  meant  when  He 
said:  "For  your  Heavenly  Father 
knoweth  that  ye  have  need  of  all  these 
things.  But  seek  ye  first  the  kingdom 
of  God  and  his  righteousness;  and  all 
these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you." 

If  you  see  as  spirit,  you  will  see 
abundance. 

If  you  see  as  flesh,  you  will  see  pov- 
erty. 

165 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

If  you  live  in  the  spirit,  you  will 
have  the  fruits  of  the  spirit. 

If  you  live  in  the  flesh,  you  will  have 
the  fruits  of  the  flesh. 

Why  all  these  weeks  of  faithfully 
waiting  upon  the  spirit;  these  weeks  of 
training  and  subjugating  the  mind? 

For  this  purpose  alone :  that  you  may 
express  in  your  physical  condition  the 
supremacy  and  grandeur  of  the  Spirit. 

Of  what  use  were  your  revelations 
of  the  Infinite,  of  the  spiritual  realm, 
if  not  to  make  more  stable,  sure  and 
abiding,  your  faith,  "that  whatsoever 
ye  ask  believing,  ye  shall  receive"? 

Realizing  the  vastness  and  the  re- 
ality of  the  realm  into  which  your  still- 
ness of  mind  leads  you ;  practicing  with 
all  faithfulness  the  power  of  seeing 
right  mental  images;  proving  through 
continued  discipline  the  power  of 
forming  what  you  desire,  do  you  not 

166 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

see  substantial  reasons  for  faith  in  the 
Almightiness  of  the  Most  High? 

The  great  Unmanifest  is  waiting  for 
your  call  to  bring  these  gifts  on  every 
plane  into  manifestation. 

It  is  by  the  application  of  faith  to 
every  detail  of  life,  that  the  Infinite 
manifests  in  the  finite. 

No  incident  or  condition  in  the  daily 
routine  of  your  natural  life  is  to  be 
left  unillumined  by  this  understanding. 

It  is  in  the  waste  places  and  the  des- 
erts of  human  experience,  as  well  as  in 
the  fruitful  gardens,  or  rich  meadow 
lands,  that  the  Divine  perfection  must 
be  expressed. 

Begin  to  change  your  mental  atti- 
tude toward  all  conditions  in  the  outer. 

See  things  not  as  they  are,  but  as 
they  should  be. 

Be  it  friends,  opportunities,  that  you 

167 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

desire,  deliberately  see  them  by  your 
image-making  faculty;  hold  steadily 
and  secretly  with  increasing  fervor,  yet 
with  calm  assurance  that  you  can  thus 
operate  with  the  Divine  Law,  and 
make  manifest  the  fullness  of  your  sup- 
ply from  the  Divine  Source. 

For  those  about  you  who  are  dis- 
couraged and  fainting  by  the  wayside 
or  overcome  by  a  momentary  weakness, 
give  this  thought-message  in  your 
mind-ministry: 

"Dear  brother  (or  sister),  lift  up 
your  head.  Let  your  heart  be  light, 
not  heavy.  Be  full  of  courage,  know- 
ing that  you  live  as  spirit  with  every 
right  to  all  blessings.  Put  away  all 
thoughts  of  time.  Know  that  now  is 
the  only  time.  Now  you  are  conscious 
of  your  true  being  as  divine  spirit,  with 
strength  to  face  anything.  The  acme 
of  strength  is  to  stand  still  and  resist 
not;  the  acme  of  wisdom,  to  remain  un- 

168 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

moved.  In  this  way  you  will  be  em- 
powered to  conquer  all  opposing 
forces.  'Not  by  might,  nor  by  power, 
but  by  My  Spirit,'  saith  the  Most  High, 
may  you  win  every  victory.  Courage, 
courage,  brother  I  Let  this  thought 
be  as  food  and  drink  until  it  is  assim- 
ilated into  your  very  being.  With  the 
Lord  God  Omnipotent  as  your  pro- 
tection, your  defense,  your  base  of  sup- 
plies, you  will  indeed  be  as  one  going 
forth  conquering  and  to  conquer!  The 
Light  Shines!" 

I  have  learned  in  this  chapter*. 

I.  The  meaning  of  the  spiritual  res- 
urrection. 

II.  The  difference  between  an  ac- 
tive and  a  passive  state  of  mind. 

III.  How  to  draw  riches  of  soul  and 
mind  from  the  spiritual  treasury. 

IV.  The  advantage  of  regular  pe- 
riods of  mental  exercise. 

169 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

V.  The  special  office  of  the  imag- 
ination. 

VI.  The  advantage  of  memory  and 
imagination  combined. 

VII.  The  secret  of  abundance. 


170 


I  WILL  BE  JOYFUL  AND  GRATEFUL 
FOR  WHAT  TODAY  BRINGS.  I  WILL 
WORK  AS  ONE  ALREADY  PAID  IN 
THE  COIN  THAT  SUPPLIES  LOVE, 
HAPPINESS,  HEALTH  AND  PLENTY. 


Prove  Me  now  herewith,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts, 
if  I  will  not  open  you  the  windows  of  heaven 
and  pour  you  out  a  blessing,  that  there  shall 
not  be  roomenoughto  receive  it. — Malachi^,  10. 


171 


Chapter  IX 
SPIRITUAL  MINISTRY 

Man  has  a  visible  and  an  invisible  workshop. 
The  visible  one  is  his  body;  the  invisible  one  his 
imagination.  The  imagination  is  a  sun  in  the  soul 
of  man,  acting  in  its  own  sphere  as  the  sun  of  the 
earth  acts  in  his.  Wherever  the  latter  shines,  germs 
planted  in  the  soil  grow  and  vegetation  springs  up. 
And  the  sun  of  the  soul  in  a  similar  manner  calls  the 
forms  of  the  soul  into  existence. — Paracelsus. 

N  the  physical  plane  per- 
fect health,  on  the  mental 
plane  perfect  harmony,  on 
the  psychical  plane  perfect 
poise,  will  insure  the  abiding  power 
and  peace  of  the  spirit. 

To  maintain  the  state  of  equilibrium 
is  possible  only  when  your  mind  is  de- 
tached from  things  of  sense. 

Moderation,  temperance  in  all 
things,  is  the  outcome  of  this  perfect 
balance.  Thus)  would  be  possible  a 
continuous  receiving  from  the  Divine 

173 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

side    and   a   continuous    giving    forth 
from  the  human  side. 

Like  the  ocean,  day  by  day  receiving 
Floods  from  all  lands,  which  never  overflows, 

Its  boundary-line  not  leaping,  and  not  leaving 
Fed  by  the  rivers,  but  unswelled  by  those; 

So  is  the  perfect  one      To  his  soul's  ocean 
The  world  of  sense  pours  streams  of  witchery; 

They  leave  him  as  they  find,  without  commotion 
Taking  their  tribute,  but  remaining  sea. 

This  is  the  ideal  state 

If  you  live  calmly,  carefully,  one 
moment  at  a  time,  it  will  be  attained. 

Love  is  the  basis  of  the  spiritual  life. 
It  is  the  atmosphere  of  the  spiritual 
thought.  It  is  the  re-creating,  re-gen- 
erating power. 

It  is  only  as  you  are  actuated  in  all 
your  thoughts  and  actions  by  this  Di- 
vine potency  that  your  nature  will  be 
transmuted  and  freed  from  the  limita- 
tions and  inefficiencies  of  the  human 
into  a  likeness  of  the  glorious  freedom 
and  power  of  the  Divine. 

In  your  constant  ministry  with  your 

174 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

lower  self,  you  will  learn  the  ministry 
for  your  brother. 

As  your  faith  grows  into  understand- 
ing, your  conviction  of  the  law  be- 
comes fixed.  You  will  be  able  to  teach 
others  to  walk  over  every  step  of  this 
path  of  faith  which  you  have  trod  be- 
fore them. 

If  you  have  proved  the  sufficiency  of 
the  Divine  power  to  give  you  health 
and  strength,  to  provide  for  your  every 
need,  to  bear  every  burden,  you  will  be 
able  to  speak  as  one  having  authority, 
to  those  who  are  willing  to  learn  the 
lesson  of  this  sublime  faith. 

As  your  own  regeneration  began 
with  right  thinking,  you  will  teach 
others,  that  theirs,  also,  will  begin  with 
right  thinking. 

You  will  give  them  the  words  of 
hope,  joy  and  courage  that  they  may 
repeat — repeat,  study  and  live.     You 

175 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

will  point  out  to  them  the  effect  of 
their  words  upon  the  body  and  upon 
their  mental  conditions,  and,  as  soon  as 
possible,  you  will  help  them  to  substi- 
tute the  large,  unbiased  view  for  the 
narrow,  petty  view  they  have  held, 
hitherto. 

You  will  teach  them  of  the  perfec- 
tion of  their  own  spiritual  being  and 
continually  suggest  the  higher  possi- 
bilities and  more  perfect  conditions 
which  await  the  unfolding  conscious- 
ness. 

You  may  do  this  by  the  audible  word 
and  lengthy  instruction,  or  by  the  si- 
lent, loving  thought. 

Inasmuch  as  thought  may  be  sent 
forth  from  one  mind  to  another,  it  will 
be  possible  for  you  to  send  a  message 
to  your  friend  or  brother,  wheresoever 
he  may  be. 

If  he  be  in  distress  or  discourage- 
ment,  your  message  will   be   one   of 
176 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

hope,  of  reassurance,  of  invigorating 
courage. 

Your  own  faith  will  be  conveyed  to 
him. 

In  order  that  you  may  more  surely 
reach  his  consciousness,  it  will  be  best 
to  have  a  definite  time  for  this  thought- 
message  and  to  fix  that  time  at  some 
hour  when  his  mind  is  likely  to  be 
most  passive. 

This  will  be  either  late  at  night 
when  he  has  retired  and  is  asleep, 
or  early  in  the  morning  about  four 
o'clock. 

Many  times  this  thought-message 
should  be  sent  without  any  knowledge 
on  the  part  of  the  one  to  whom  it  is 
sent,  for  the  reason  that  his  skeptical 
and  unbelieving  state  of  mind  might 
oppose  and  therefore  refute  your  ef- 
forts. 

One  point  must  be  emphasized:  un- 
selfish, pure,  brotherly  motive  must 
177 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

animate  your  ministry  and  permeate 
your  message. 

Under  no  consideration  and  at  no 
time,  must  you  give  forth  to  any  person 
a  selfish  or  harmful  thought.  Woe  be 
unto  you,  if  you  should  dare  transgress 
the  law  of  righteousness  in  this  respect. 

As  ye  sow,  so  shall  ye  reap. 

Let  your  gracious,  loving  motive  be 
unimpeachable. 

In  addition  to  the  message  of  com- 
fort and  courage,  which  may  be  given 
in  the  manner  described,  here  are  defi- 
nite instructions  as  to  how  to  give  the 
necessary  help  to  one  who  is  sick. 

On  the  basis  that  the  Spirit  is  the 
real  being,  which  is  perfect,  disease- 
less  and  deathless,  you  can  say  audibly 
or  mentally,  these  words  to  the  spirit 
of  any  person,  no  matter  how  diseased 
the  body  may  be : 

"God  has  created  your  spirit  in  his 
own  image.    The  spirit  is  not  sick,  the 

178 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

spirit  cannot  suffer,  the  spirit  has  no 
fear;  I  now  say  to  you  as  spirit,  ' Arise, 
shine,  for  you  are  the  light.'  The  holi- 
ness of  God  is  your  protection,  your 
portion.  That  holiness  shall  show  forth 
in  your  mind  as  harmony  and  happi- 
ness, in  your  body  as  wholeness,  as 
health. 

"This  thought,  which  is  from  the 
spirit,  is  like  the  light;  oh!  brother,  let 
it  shine  in  your  mind.  Let  it  warm 
your  heart.  Let  it  heal  your  body  by 
its  beneficent  healing  power. 

"God's  peace  is  within  you. 

"God's  love  is  within  you  and  about 
you. 

"God's  life  is  your  light. 

"As  you  are  whole  in  the  spirit, 
manifest  health  now.  Think  health,  see 
health.    Be  whole.    Now,  now,  now!" 

Then  wordlessly  realize  his  perfec- 
tion of  being. 

Speaking  thus  in  the  early  morning 

179 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

and  in  the  stillness  of  the  night  hours, 
if  your  words  fall  on  good  ground, 
they  may  speedily  or  slowly,  accord- 
ing to  responsiveness  of  the  patient, 
make  conditions  for  perfect  health. 

The  word  of  faith  has  creative 
power. 

So,  when  not  only  your  message,  but 
your  faith,  is  conveyed  to  those  you 
would  help,  the  effect  is  marked  and 
often  wonderful. 

If  a  little  child  is  in  need  of  help, 
even  in  the  throes  of  fever  or  disease, 
sit  beside  it  and  softly  croon  in  sweet, 
low,  chanting  tones: 

"Peace,  peace,  peace.  Peace  be  in 
thy  heart.  Peace  as  the  breath  of  the 
morning.  Peace,  peace,  peace.  The 
Angel  of  Peace  is  within  thee,  to  heal 
and  to  bless." 

As  you  remain  sitting,  continue  in- 
audible singing. 

You  will  find  in  an  incredibly  short 

180 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

time  that  the  little  one  will  be  asleep  or 
charmed  into  restful  stillness.  This 
method  of  mental  singing  is  also  very 
effective  with  adults. 

Many  times  when  an  audible  word 
would  be  resented,  the  sweet  ministry 
of  silent  song  will  be  as  the  fragrance 
of  flowers,  or  the  sound  of  majestic 
music. 

An  instance  may  be  given  which  is 
taken  from  experience. 

A  child  was  in  the  throes  of  a  con- 
vulsion. The  doctor  was  summoned 
only  to  announce — "too  late."  The  at- 
tendants were  horror  struck.  The 
mother  fainted. 

But  one  who  had  been  among  those 
waiting  for  the  doctor  continued  with 
redoubled  earnestness  to  sing  mentally 
of  the  "peace  of  the  spirit,"  even  in  the 
midst  of  the  tumult.  A  very  few  min- 
utes sufficed. 

181 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

Suddenly  the  convulsive  limbs  grew 
still.  The  little  one  ceased  moaning 
and  opened  his  eyes  with  the  light  of 
intelligence  beaming  from  them. 

Yes.  It  is  the  rare  atmosphere  of 
harmony  and  faith  underlying  the 
words,  which  so  wondrously  works  the 
change.  Had  you  no  faith,  no  sweet 
beneficent  quality,  no  fine  ensphering 
influence,  no  warm,  ennobling  love, 
your  words,  either  mental  or  audible, 
would  be  empty  forms  without  life  or 
power. 

Is  there  any  limit  placed  upon  this 
power  of  love,  or  faith  to  do  what  you 
will? 

Nay.  It  is  promised  that  we  shall 
receive  "what  we  will  from  Him  that 
is  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly 
above  all  that  we  ask  or  think,  accord- 
ing to  the  power  that  worketh  in  us." 

Mark  that!  Then  consider  the 
power. 

182 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

Is  it  not  a  glorious  privilege  to  open 
your  window  toward  Jerusalem  and  to 
receive  the  reflection  of  the  Light,  that 
shall  shine  forth  again  as  you  direct? 

"Desire  and  thought  must  be  made 
into  a  cross  in  which  the  upright  line 
is  the  intellect  and  the  base  line  the 
love  nature,"  is  the  old  Hermetic  way 
of  saying,  "let  your  intelligence  be 
joined  to  your  love,  that  you  may  have 
both  light  and  warmth  in  your  out- 
going radiance." 

Only  in  the  faith  that  will  bring  forth 
love  that  may  be  sent  forth  in  showers 
of  blessings,  will  you  be  able  to  find 
the  Lost  Word  of  Ancient  Wisdom, 
"which  will  facilitate  Universal  Bro- 
therhood" and  establish  among  all  na- 
tions, as  well  as  in  individual  lives,  the 
trust  that  is  supreme. 

Overflow  with  thoughts  and  words 
of  glad,  sweet  ministry.  DO  for  any 
creature,  animal  or  human,  whatever 

183 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

you  can  to  give  comfort,  health  or  cour- 
age. 

Round  about  us,  everywhere, 
Men  their  griefs  and  burdens  bear. 

You  have  been  commissioned  to  help 
and  bless  your  brother  by  loving  him. 
One  of  your  great  and  distinctive  gifts 
is  the  power  of  thought. 

This  is  the  means  which  you  may  al- 
ways use,  when  the  limitations  of  the 
outer  are  such  that  you  cannot  see  or 
speak  with  the  one  whom  you  would 
help. 

Yet,  if  expedient,  these  or  similar 
words  to  those  already  suggested  may 
be  thought  or  uttered  in  the  presence 
of  the  one  to  receive  them. 

The  law  and  its  application  have 
been  laid  before  you. 

The  explanation  of  the  process  by 
which  your  unuttered  thought  may 
help  those  near  or  distant  lies  in  this: 

184 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

Thought  is  a  dynamic  force,  and, 
moving  through  the  etheric  atmos- 
phere, creates  waves  which  transmit 
the  intelligence  from  one  mind  to 
another,  as  air  transmits  vibrations  of 
sound. 

When  there  is  perfect  affinity  of 
temperament,  mood  or  mentality,  your 
thought  may  be  received  and  trans- 
lated into  words.  Such  communica- 
tion is  called  telepathy,  or  thought 
transference.  As  there  is  an  air  at- 
mosphere, there  is  an  universal  ether 
which  permeates  and  embraces  all 
things. 

Your  thoughts  are  going  forth  con- 
tinually into  the  etheric  realm  and  find- 
ing lodgment  in  whatsoever  mind  is 
responsive. 

In  the  same  way  that  you  may  con- 
vey the  health  message  and  change  the 
bodily  conditions,  you  may  also  lift  the 
185 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

burden  of  despair  or  fear,  providing 
those  whom  you  would  thus  help  are 
responsive  to  your  thoughts. 

On  the  physical  plane  you  may  not 
so  readily  reach  the  attention,  for  the 
reason  that  so  much  on  the  physical 
plane  absorbs  the  mind  and  interest, 
nor  is  it  possible  always  to  gain  atten- 
tion from  those  constantly  engaged  in 
intellectual  activity. 

But  on*  the  spiritual  plane,  where  it 
is  quality  rather  than  words,  the  ra- 
diance of  your  brotherly  interest  will 
speedily  help  all  those  responsive  to 
this  power. 

It  is  because  of  this  pre-occupation 
with  material  affairs;  or,  because  of  in- 
tense intellectual  energy  during  the  day 
that  the  night  or  the  early  morning  is 
suggested  as  best  for  your  silent  min- 
istry. Whether  you  deliberately  and 
conscientiously  send  forth  thoughts  di- 
rected to  some  specific  end,  or  whether 

186 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

you  send  them  forth  for  the  universal 
benefit  of  mankind,  they  will  seek  their 
own  soil  and  bring  forth  their  own 
fruits. 

The  highest  attenuation  of  any 
power  is  that  which  is  most  intangible 
to  the  senses,  hence  that  which  is  the 
highest  healing  potency  must  be  above 
the  personal  and  on  the  spiritual  plane. 

This  is  the  realm  in  the  being  of  man 
which  is  impervious  to  all  inharmony 
in  whatsoever  form.  In  it  abides  the 
supreme  calm  of  the  spirit  which  cor- 
responds to  what  the  scientists,  in  their 
mathematical  analysis  of  the  solar  sys- 
tems and  their  movements,  call  the  cen- 
ter of  gravity. 

So,  in  the  system  of  man,  this  which 
is  absolute  in  its  perfection,  is  unmoved 
forever  amid  the  swirling,  restless  cur- 
rents that  sweep  through  mind  and 
body. 

To  become  conscious  of  this  center 
187 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

is  to  find  harmony,  which  is  health, 
and  if  you  can  lead  one  who  is  sick  in 
mind  or  suffering  in  body,  to  his  own 
pool  of  Bethesda,  or  center,  whether 
by  the  silent  throbbing  of  your  voice- 
less love,  or  the  audible  speaking  of 
eloquent  words,  you  become  the  trans- 
mitter of  the  highest  attenuation  of  this 
power  which  heals  and  blesses. 

/  have  learned  in  this  chapter: 

I.  That  spiritual  thought  is  the  re- 
creating, re-generating  power. 

II.  That  as  I  help  my  lower  self  to 
overcome,  I  can  help  others. 

III.  That  the  power  of  mind  self- 
ishly used  is  sure  to  re-aci  upon  my 
self  as  well  as  to  injure  others.  That 
I  must  reap  as  I  sow. 

IV.  That  spirit  cannot  fear,  suffer  or 
be  sick. 

V.  The  secret  of  early  morning  min- 
istry. 

188 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

VI.  That  the  calm  of  the  spirit  is 
essential  in  living  the  true  life. 

VII.  That  mind  is  a  transmitting 
messenger. 


189 


LET  ME  REMEMBER  THAT  MY  LIFE 
RULE  IS  THE  GOLDEN  RULE,  AND 
THAT  AS  I  PRACTISE  IT  TODAY 
AND  ALL  DAYS,  LOVE  AND  ITS 
FRUITS  WILL  BE  PERFECTED  IN 
ME  AND  MY  WORLD. 


But  whoso  keepeth  his  word,  in  him  verily  is  the 
love  of  God  perfected;  hereby  know  we  that 
we  are  in  Him. — /.  John  2,  3. 


191 


Chapter  X 
UNIVERSAL  BROTHERHOOD 

In  one  vast  story,  with 

Its  several  parts,  this  mighty 

World  doth  picture  life, 

Death,  and  the  resurrection! 

Read  true,  each  beauteous  symbol 

Great  or  small  becomes 

The  witness  bearer  of 

The  wondrous  truth  that  Life 

Forever  is;  that  broken 

Parts  are  but  divisions 

Of  the  perfect  Whole. 

What  seemeth  death  is  prelude 

To  another  day — continued 

Life. 

As  in  the  universe 

So  in  the  life  of  man 

His  nights  and  days  of  pain 

Or  pleasure,  his  moods  of  ill 

Or  good,  his  tempted  moments 

And  his  shining  victories  over 

Self,  are  golden  letters 

Pale,  or  bright  that  mark 

The  one  great  storied  truth 

That  Life  goes  on  a  ceaseless 

Day  of  shadows  and 

Of  light. 


193 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 


HE  individualized  spirit  or 
human  ego  has  a  beginning 
in  self-consciousness,  but 
not  in  essential  being. 
Since  all  knowledge  is  necessary  to 
the  perfected  soul,  the  secret  of  attain- 
ment lies  in  the  processes  through 
which  consciousness  is  unfolded.  As 
the  little  child,  born  into  the  material 
world,  is  from  the  first  moment  given 
experiences,  in  order  that  it  may  learn 
all  things  pertaining  to  its  body  and  its 
environment,  so  the  soul  in  its  evolu- 
tion is  given  experiences  that  will  teach 
first,  the  lesson  of  adaptation,  and  last, 
the  power  by  which  adaptation  is  pos- 
sible. 

So  wonderful  is  the  law  and  so  var- 
ied its  manifold  operations,  that  only 
to  the  Infinite  Mind  can  be  ascribed 
the  stupendous  plan  of  physical  evolu- 
tion by  which  all  material  objects  and 
all  phases  of  objective  life  reveal  the 

194 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

complexity  and  perfection  of  the  Idea 
which  they  progressively  express. 

In  every  natural  thing  it  is  the  In- 
finite itself  which  is  thus  revealed 
through  the  finite. 

What  you  call  your  mind,  your  life, 
your  power,  is  not  yours  at  all,  but 
God's. 

Yet  for  the  purpose  of  giving  the 
soul  development,  it  is  given  opportu- 
nity to  have  experience  in  variety  as 
infinite  as  the  forms  and  the  conditions 
of  physical  life. 

Birth,  life,  death — these  are  phases 
of  experience  through  which  every  soul 
must  pass  either  on  earth  or  elsewhere, 
not  once,  but  hundreds,  thousands,  yes, 
millions  of  times. 

Why? 

Because  in  no  other  way  could  intel- 
ligent understanding  concerning  the  su- 
preme truth  of  Being  be  acquired. 

In  no  other  way  could  there  be  given 
195 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

the  freedom  of  self  will  by  which  the 
soul,  through  repeated  experiences, 
learns  the  lesson  of  separation  and 
comes  at  last  voluntarily  to  unite  itself 
with  its  divine  Source. 

In  no  other  way  could  justice  be  done 
to  all  creatures  that  inhabit  the  earth. 

This  wonderful,  matchless  key  to 
evolution  and  involution,  to  past,  pres- 
ent and  future,  is  found  in  what  may  be 
called  the  Divine  plan  of  progressive 
unfoldment. 

In  the  story  of  the  prodigal,  who, 
taking  a  portion  freely  bestowed  by  his 
Father,  went  forth  and  spent  it  in  riot- 
ous living,  we  find  the  prototype  of  the 
story  of  the  soul  which,  endowed  with 
the  rich  inheritance  of  spiritual  gifts, 
seeks  to  use  for  enjoyment  and  selfish 
ends  what  should  be  used  for  the  glory 
of  God. 

But  in  order  to  receive  the  conscious 
obedience,  the  willing  and  consecrated 

196 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

service,  the  unselfish  love  which  only 
a  purified  and  awakened  soul  can  give, 
the  All-Wise  decreed  that  every  soul 
should  be  equally  endowed  and  have 
equal  opportunity  for  perfecting  its 
powers. 

To  this  end,  a  measure  of  the  divine 
Nature,  a  ray  of  the  original  and  only 
Light  as  a  leaven,  was  put  into  every 
living  creature,  even  the  so-called  non- 
sentient  and  inanimate. 

This  leaven,  even  in  the  protoplasmic 
cell  (so  called  by  the  scientist)  which 
is  the  first  recognized  beginning  of  ma- 
terial expression,  has,  through  all  aeons 
of  time,  been  true  to  its  nature  and  ex- 
pressed in  each  form,  some  measure  of 
the  infinite  Life  and  Intelligence. 

Thus  was  life  in  the  cell,  successfully 
transmitted  to  more  complex  bodies,  in 
the  first  stages  of  development  quickly 
exhausting  the  material  forms. 

With  each  succeeding  embodiment 
197 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

in  the  infinitesimal  and  myriad  forms 
progressively  used  by  the  Life  germ, 
there  was  a  widening  intelligence  as  a 
result  of  experience,  each  succeeding 
life  holding  in  solution,  as  it  were,  the 
aggregate  experiences  of  all  previous 
embodiments. 

Through  cellular,  articulate,  verte- 
brate, and  all  ascending  forms  of  evo- 
lutionary existence,  this  divine  Entity, 
in  sublime  unconsciousness,  passed 
from  one  dream  to  another  of  self-life, 
until  it  had  gathered  so  complex  an  in- 
telligence that  it  required  a  complex 
physical  organism  as  its  appropriate 
instrument  of  expression. 

Thus  was  gradually  evolved  that 
which  is  the  product  of  countless  ages, 
the  wonderful,  unsurpassable  human 
body. 

Not  until  millions  of  lives  had  been 
passed  in  the  evolution  of  the  most 
primitive  forms  expressing  the  charac- 
198 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

teristics  of  humanity  could  it  be  said 
that  man  was  made  in  the  image  and 
the  likeness  of  his  Creator.  For  man, 
the  thinker,  appeared  unnumbered  cy- 
cles after  the  beast,  or  the  savage, 
called  prehistoric  man. 

Today,  when  you  look  into  the  face 
or  upon  the  form  of  any  living  crea- 
ture, you  are  looking  upon  one  who, 
no  matter  what  his  present  conscious- 
ness or  expression,  is  your  brother,  and 
thus  entitled  to  your  respect,  your  sym- 
pathy, your  charity  and  your  consid- 
erate recognition. 

Who  knows  the  future  of  yonder 
playful  child? 

At  present,  he  is  a  babe.  He  gives 
no  sign  of  the  dormant  powers  by 
which  he  may  some  day  stir  the  world, 
so,  though  it  may  not  be  for  still  un- 
numbered lives  in  the  future,  there 
sleep  in  every  being  divine  possibilities 
that  are  destined  to  be  expressed  some- 

199 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

time,  somewhere,  according  to  the 
measure  of  the  perfect  stature  of  the 
perfect  man. 

The  human  form  through  successive 
ages  of  necessary  adaptation  to  the  re- 
quirements of  its  circumstances  has 
acquired  marvelous  skill  and  most 
perfect  development  as  an  instrument 
of  use. 

The  moral  nature  has  developed,  the 
psychical  powers  have  unfolded  in 
many  people,  yet  there  still  lies  before 
each  of  these,  and  before  the  race,  the 
fair  and  gracious  pattern  of  the  spir- 
itual man,  of  whom  Jesus  was  the  El- 
der Brother,  the  perfected  ideal. 

Is  all  this  but  the  mere  statement  of 
a  cold  theory? 

Do  you  not  see  in  it  the  answer  to 
all  the  perplexing  questions  that  have 
faced  you  in  your  own  nature  and  in 
the  unequal,   and  hitherto  incompre- 

200 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

hensible  conditions  in  the  world  about 
you? 

Do  you  not  realize  that,  as  you  are 
obliged  to  cultivate  an  infinite  patience 
toward  your  lower  self  for  all  its  short- 
comings, its  blindness,  its  weakness,  its 
inability  to  grasp  the  meaning  of  the 
highest,  that  you  must  also  have  infinite 
patience  toward  your  fellow-man  in 
his  exhibitions  of  human  follies  and 
frailties? 

As  even  in  this  earth  you  have 
needed  repeated  experiences  of  the 
same  kind  in  order  to  learn  a  lesson, 
so  must  all  souls  through  all  lives  have 
this  repetition  in  order  to  finally  know 
the  meaning  of  experience. 

Out  of  darkness  comes  light. 

Out  of  failure  comes  success. 

So,  out  of  the  darkness,  the  mystery, 
yes,  the  evil,  (SO  called)  of  earthly 
existence,  there  is  to  come  into  expres- 
201 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

sion  the  pure  and  perfect  light,  the  ra- 
diant and  imperishable  spirit. 

It  is  only  through  suffering,  that  is 
born  in  the  human  heart,  that  divine 
off-spring  of  love  called  sympathy. 

This,  alone,  makes  charity,  or  for- 
giveness, or  brotherly  love,  a  possibil- 
ity. Will  not  this  inspire  and  strengthen 
you  in  your  counselings  with  those  who 
suffer? 

Teach  them  to  look  above  and  be- 
yond the  suffering  to  the  larger,  truer, 
sweeter  consciousness  that  will  be  theirs 
when  they  have  learned  its  lesson. 

Teach  them  that  the  interpretation 
of  all  adversity,  of  all  trials,  of  all  sor- 
row, is  that  these  are  the  means  of  tran- 
sition by  which  they  are  passing  to  a 
higher  plane  of  understanding,  to  a 
surer  faith  in  God  and  a  truer  fellow- 
ship with  humanity. 

Thus  by  the  love,  the  patience  and 
the  wisdom  of  the  more  advanced  souls, 

202 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

are  those  still  in  the  lower  stages  of 
development  to  be  trained,  guided  and 
helped  to  the  higher  consciousness. 

Science  tells  us  that  even  in  physical 
childhood  there  are  exhibited  the  dif- 
ferent phases  of  an  earlier  racial  devel- 
opment, which  represent  the  charac- 
teristics of  man  from  his  beastly  to  his 
higher  stage. 

Would  it  be  strange,  then,  to  find 
in  many  human  beings  the  cruder 
phases  of  intelligence  as  displayed  in 
greed,  cunning,  cruelty  or  selfishness? 

He  who  is  manifesting  the  greed  of 
the  cormorant,  the  cruelty  of  the  tiger, 
or  the  merciless  brutality  of  a  beast 
of  the  jungle,  has  not  yet  outlived  the 
propensities  and  vices  of  those  stages 
of  development. 

Deeply  buried  in  the  subconscious 
mind  of  man  are  all  incidents  of  the 
past  evolutionary  life.  These  subcon- 
scious memories  have  made  tendencies 

203 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

that  manifest  as  good  or  evil  according 
to  the  development  of  the  individual, 
and  may  be  active  as  blind  brute  in- 
stincts, or  as  unusual  powers  or  gifts. 

Through  all  stages  of  moral  and 
physical  development  will  be  seen  the 
evidences  of  past  tastes,  or  of  power 
or  knowledge  which  have  been  culti- 
vated in  previous  existences. 

This  is  one  of  the  many  keys  to  the 
brilliant  gifts  of  genius,  and  the  phe- 
nomenal development  as  seen  in  so- 
called  prodigies. 

Herein  may  lie  the  explanation, 
also,  for  many  born-criminals,  for  im- 
beciles, for  precocity  in  childhood,  for 
any  vein  of  peculiar  or  eccentric  char- 
acter. 

But  no  matter  what  his  darkness, 
when  the  soul  awakes  and  sees  the  light 
of  the  spirit,  it  is  alive  and  the  new  day 
has  dawned. 

It  is  the  day  of  perfection! 

204 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

You  may  then  ask  how  can  the  soul 
trammeled  in  such  fashion  by  the  ig- 
norance and  mistakes  of  all  the  ages, 
and  subject  to  frailties  and  idiosyn- 
crasies transmitted  through  human  he- 
redity, biased  in  every  life  by  environ- 
ments and  influences,  ever  reach  the 
stage  of  consciousness,  wherein  it  will 
know  itself  as  Divine,  and  stand  forth 
individualized  in  all  the  majestic 
splendor  of  its  inherent  Divinity? 

As  it  takes  all  the  experiences  of 
childhood  and  of  youth  to  make  a  ma- 
ture human  being,  who  knows,  judges 
and  lives  as  an  individual,  so  it  takes 
all  the  experiences  of  the  ages  of  evolu- 
tion to  mature  and  individualize  the 
soul  consciousness. 

He  who  lives  with  thought,  interest, 
will  and  desire,  polarized  on  the  per- 
sonal plane,  is  not  yet  individualized, 
for  while  he  is  still  in  the  personal  he 
205 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

lives    from    the    relative    viewpoint, 
knowing  only  personal  relations. 

When  he  is  illumined  with  light  or 
understanding  from  the  spiritual  basis, 
he  knows  himself  as  undivided  from 
the  perfect  Whole. 

He  is,  therefore,  not  only  able  to 
identify  himself  in  consciousness  with 
the  perfect  Whole  but  to  express 
through  his  personality  the  real  indi- 
vidual. 

He  is  free  from  ignorance  because 
at  last  he  knows  the  truth.  The  dark- 
ness with  its  dreams  of  evil  and  suf- 
fering is  gone. 

But  through  all  disguises  you  who 
know,  may  recognize  the  majestic  be- 
ing which  waits  only  for  the  fullness 
of  time  for  its  unveiling — when  it  will 
know  itself  as  Divine  and  be  con- 
sciously clothed  with  Divinity. 

When  this  turning  point  is  reached 
206 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

there  has  taken  place  what  is  called 
the  spiritual  birth. 

Then  that  which  was  bound,  is  free. 

That  which  was  dead,  is  alive. 

The  illumined  life  begins. 

It  is  knowing  the  truth  that  makes 
free — yes,  free  from  all  bonds  of  the 
past  or  the  present — the  truth  that  he 
is  not  what  he  seems,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, a  perfect  being,  the  child  of  God 
— the  spirit  that  was  never  born,  can 
never  die,  and  is  always  LIGHT,  even 
the  LIGHT  that  lighteth  every  man 
that  cometh  into  the  world. 

To  know  this  truth  is  redemption 
from  every  ill. 

To  know  that  by  audibly  and  per- 
sistently declaring  it  in  face  of  any 
and  all  adverse  conditions  is  to  know 
the  secret  of  the  miracle  working 
power  of  the  word. 

"Continue  in  my  word!'  said  Jesus, 
207 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

"and  ye  shall  know  the  truth  and  the 
truth  shall  set  you  free" 

He  who  says :  "I  am  spirit"  becomes 
alive  in  the  spirit. 

He  who  says:  "As  spirit  I  am  free 
from  the  law  of  the  flesh,"  becomes 
free. 

He  who  says:  "As  spirit  I  am  free 
from  the  sorrows,  mistakes  and  suf- 
ferings of  the  world,"  becomes  free 
from  them. 

He  who  says:  "As  spirit,  I  am  free, 
wise,  joyous,  whole  and  sound,"  be- 
comes so. 

He  who  says:  "As  spirit  I  live  and 
move  and  have  my  being  in  God,"  re- 
alizes and  manifests  his  words  of  faith. 

When? 

When,  by  continuance  in  his  words 
of  truth,  he  lifts  his  consciousness  from 
the  fleshly  to  the  spiritual  plane  of 
being. 

208 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

You  who  know  the  way,  help  your 
fellows. 

With  the  eye  of  your  spirit,  see  that 
back  of  the  sodden  countenance,  back 
of  the  passion-tossed  mind,  back  of  the 
sin-veiled  soul  is  the  radiance  of  Di- 
vinity. 

It  may  be  that  your  thought,  your 
word,  your  act,  will  unstop  the  deaf 
ears,  and  unseal  the  blind  eyes. 

It  may  be  that  you  will  be  the 
ministering  presence  that  will  start  the 
first  throb  of  joy  in  the  awakened  soul. 

Now  you  have  the  secret  of  the  il- 
lumined life — not  for  yourself,  alone, 
but  for  all  humanity. 

To  love  all — work  for  all — bring  the 
light  to  all  is  UNIVERSAL  BROTH- 
ERHOOD. 

Can  you  live  as  a  brother  to  all  crea- 
tures? 

Can  you  let  your  light  so  shine  that 

209 


THE  ILLUMINED  LIFE 

it  shall  glorify  your  Father  and  redeem 
your  brothers? 

Can  you  remove  all  condemnation 
from  your  heart  that  you  may,  in 
thought,  and  word  and  deed,  live  the 
illumined  life? 

O  glorious  Life, 
My  soul's  white  Light, 
Thou  comest  forth— 
The  saved  and  saving, 
Christ! 

O  Light  divine, 
Thy  radiance  o'er 
My  heart  doth  shine, 
To  point  the  way 
Of  life. 


210 


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YB  29460 


